Pokémon Fables: The Master of Nightmares
by Emperor Serperior
Summary: Ash & friends survived the disaster aboard the cruise ship, and made their way to an island owned by the esteemed Maximillion Pegasus. Initially, they assume things will be fine and participate in a recently established league. However, Yami Levi still remains within his host and his desire to slaughter everyone lives on. Even if he's removed, the world may come to an end anyway.
1. Chapter 1: Meeting Joey

Hello readers, this is a direct continuation of Pokémon Fables: Green With Evil. The basis of the plot's beginning: Serena and her friends have arrived to an island owned by Maximillion Pegasus, and are going to participate in another Pokémon League as a way of easing themselves from the previous tragedy.

 **DISCLAIMER:** It's more than obvious that I don't own Pokémon or Yu-Gi-Oh. What I own here is the stories, and the characters I have made.

As I have said in the past; read, review, and most importantly-enjoy.

* * *

Serena gazed at the blank screen for a few moments, having nothing to say or think about at the present time aside from telling the other guests that it was a mere trick the news channel was playing on them, though Pegasus beat her to it.

"I'm sure it's nothing other than typical nonsense, my honored guests!" he said reassuringly. "Please allow my servants to lead you to your rooms. Tomorrow is a big day, and you will certainly need some sleep!"

 _I wish I could have an attitude like that right now,_ Serena thought, envious of Pegasus's purely happy mood.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Pegasus stated, slapping the side of his head in embarrassment. "There are several other guests who are staying here too, so you may have to share rooms with them. That won't be a problem, will it?"

"Not at all," Serena replied with an emotionless tone. "We'll be just fine, Mr. Pegasus. Right everyone?" To nobody's surprise, Ash merely gibbered at Serena's rhetorical inquiry, while the others gave distinctive signs of agreement, though a few were not pleased.

"I...don't have to share the same room as Ash, do I?" Levi asked nervously, looking at the trainer he once admired.

"Your friend can decide who sleeps where," Pegasus answered, walking upstairs to his room. "You all can have whatever room if it's not completely full, Levi-boy. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to sleep too!"

"Did...he _actually_ just call me that?" Levi whispered, taken aback by the bizarre nickname the creator of Duel Monsters just gave him.

"Don't you be worrying, he does that with everybody!" an excited male voice shouted from the second floor. Serena looked upward to see an energetic teenager staring down at them, one that looked very hyperactive and energetic.

The teen's dirty blonde hair appeared highly disorganized, standing in asymmetrical directions and seemingly overgrown at the front. The individual was wearing a worn-down street jacket with a blue T-shirt underneath, and spotless gray leather pants. Around his waist was a decorated white belt with several PokéBalls dangling from it, which did not match the rest of his outfit at all.

"Qué pasa, whoever you are," Luis greeted, waving in spite of the awkward nature of the meeting. "What brings you to this random part of the world?"

"The name's Joey Wheeler!" he responded with a smug grin. "I came to win this league, and get that awesome prize that comes with being champion!"

"There's a prize you get for being champion?" Ash asked while jumping around the fountain.

"Yeah, this league's a lot like Duelist Kingdom," Joey answered, waving for the group to join him in his room. "Come upstairs, I'll tell ya all about it!"

"C'mon Ash, let's listen to that kid ramble on about nothing," Demealla said jokingly, pulling Ash upstairs while he struggled to re-enter the fountain.

* * *

 _Oh man, this is the perfect opportunity to get more people on our team! My pals are gonna thank me big time for this,_ Joey thought happily, marching towards their room with excessive amounts on confidence. _When they find out I'm friends with Yugi, there's no way they're refuse the offer!_

Joey opened the door sloppily, and entered the room to see that Tristan was the only occupant of the room at the moment; Yugi and Téa were nowhere to be seen.

"Where did everyone go?" Joey thought aloud, forgetting that their rooms was quickly becoming overcrowded. "Why'd you let Yugi and Téa leave, Tristan? We're supposed to be having roasted candy bars tonight to celebrate the day when we became best friends!"

"It's Friday night, Joey. They always go off to have a date," Tristan answered in annoyance, taking a glance at the new occupants. "Hey, aren't we only supposed to have twelve people in here?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, we're overcrowded now..." Joey said in embarrassment, turning to face Serena and her friends. "Sorry Brock, you gotta find another room to stay in."

"Hang on, why do _I_ have to stay somewhere else?" Brock questioned as Joey shoved him out.

"I'll explain next time, pal," Joey replied with a guilty tone, closing the door and locking it. "I hope Yugi and Téa have a key, or something. No way I'm gonna risk having _her_ get i-"

"I'm already inside, Joey!" a sour female voice said from the balcony, causing Joey to give an extremely worried expression. An intimidating teenage girl stepped into the room, looking like she was ready to cause trouble and annoy everyone around her.

The girl's untamed blue hair barely reached down her neck, and showed no signs of being maintained. Her skin was rough, and appeared to have suffered from many burns over the years, along with other unpleasant deforming conditions.

The girl was wearing a brown tank top that reached down to the middle of her stomach, and a messy stained skirt that looked as if it was white at one point. Her left eye was given an ominous purple hue, while her right had a cruel silver coloration.

 _That girl must be the prankster of doom,_ Joey thought in angst, ready to use his Pokémon to fight her. _I gotta get rid of her before she causes real probl-_

"Lia, what are you doing here?" Serena asked the girl, her expression indicating nothing other than angered disbelief. The girl's arrogant expression instantly transformed into something that implied complete terror, almost like she was about to wet herself.

"M-Mom?! How did you-nevermind, I can explain!" Lia exclaimed, slowly backing into the corner. "I made someone else watch Luke, and take care of the Pokémon back home. Everything's fine, I swear it!"

"Hey, calm the hell down!" Tristan snapped, picking up a baseball bat. "You promised to not freak out if your mom showed up in exchange for us letting you stay in here, remember?"

"Us? What do ya mean _us?_ " Joey growled, shaking his fist at Tristan. "I didn't know nothing about this!" Before Joey could continue, he noticed somebody waving a hand to get his attention.

"Forgive the interruption, but...I got to ask something," Levi nearly whispered, stepping in front of Serena to face her. "Since when did you and Ash have kids?" Serena closed her eyes tightly, staring down at the floor shamefully.

"Let's talk about that later," Serena answered, looking up at her daughter. "Right now, there's a lot of explaining that needs to be done."

"Yeah! Like what this league is all about," Demealla interjected, stepping closer to Joey. "Didn't you say this was like Duelist Kingdom? What is that anyway?"

"Take it easy, lady with weird costume..." Joey commented in annoyance. "The Duelist Kingdom was a Duel Monsters tournament that Pegasus was hosting a real long time ago. A whole ton of people got invited, including my buddy Yugi. The rest of us, well...we snuck aboard the boat going there. Even though I wasn't invited, I still got to play in the tournament. In the end, Yugi won but he gave me the money so I could pay for my sister's eye surgery.

"How we got to the finals was by getting these little things called star chips, and we used those to open the door to the castle where the finals were. If we ran out of them, then we'd get kicked out. This league we're participating in works like that, except there's more doors and we use the badges to get through them. We also get even more money for winning this, and that means I can pay for any future operations my sister needs, or the other prize is...uh, a surprise."

"Very interesting," Demealla remarked with a sly grin, occasionally glaring at Lia. "Anything other _important_ things we should know about, Joey?"

"Uhh...well," Joey began, pausing as he mentally prepared himself to handle the group's reaction at one of the key rules. "We gotta split up into little groups of three when he pass the first gate, and you can't start with the people you got to the first island with..."

"WHAT?!I can't travel with-" Demealla nearly shouted, causing everyone to look at her suspiciously. "I-I mean, I...err, forget it, I'm gonna go outside." Joey watched the strange woman walk out to the balcony, and close the door with her reddening face turned away.

 _What's her deal?_ Joey thought, perplexed at her behavior. _Is she on drugs, or something?_

* * *

 _Pegasus stood on the central platform of the Hall of Origin, confused at the lackluster ambiance and the absence of any sort of sound. The area felt generally empty, and for whatever reason, completely lifeless.  
_

This is quite strange, _Pegasus thought as he walked near one of the broken pillars._ How did I even get here? I don't remember taking a helicopter ride over th-

 _"Maximillion...!" the voice of Cecelia called out from above, immediately catching her husband's attention. "I knew you would come for me eventually, even if it meant traveling to a place nobody can get to!"_

 _"Cecelia...?" Pegasus whispered in surprise, looking at the sky to see his wife slowly descending downward. "You're...alive? But I didn't-"_

 _"I have been resurrected by the emperor of the universe," she explained, interrupting him without realizing it. "We can now be together for eternity, as long as we honor the wishes of our new master."_

What is she talking about? _Pegasus said within his mind, gaining the feeling that this was an act of deceit from an unknown party._ Unless this is an interpretation of a god's status, there is no "emperor of the universe", none of the known gods have declared ownership of it.

 _"Cecelia my love, I believe you're a little out of touch with things," Pegasus stated modestly, shoving his hands in his pockets to get his phone. "Why don't we talk when we get back to my estate? Maybe-"_

 _"Argh, you're not that easy to fool," a demonic, distorted male voice growled from above, one that sounded somewhat similar to Levi's. "I don't have the patience for the puppet trick anyway..."_

 _Cecelia's body suddenly fell limp, and dropped the floor like an invisible anchor was instantly strapped to her ankle. Blue translucent strings dangled from her backside, almost as if Pegasus had been speaking to an organic puppet rather than his actual wife._

 _Before Pegasus could even question what was occurring, a taller form of the stoic Pokémon Trainer landed in front of him, gazing in the usually cheerful man's direction with a crazed look on his face. Cyan-shaded lines flared up on Levi's skin, which contributed to the illumination of the markings on his forehead._

That's not the Levi I know, _Pegasus thought with a cringe_. Come to think of it, he doesn't even come across as someone who would have the nerve to pull such a prank on me, especially one that involves playing mind games using a puppet of my wife. This must be a second personality created by trauma or some twisted magic that's possessed him!

 _"Who are you?!" Pegasus shouted, readying his mega stone while preparing to send out his strongest Pokémon._

 _"You...you don't recognize me, Max?" the entity inquired with a disturbing laugh. "I'm an improved incarnation of the Levi you already know. I'm more knowledgeable than before, and serve the one who deserves to rule the universe. The one who is entitled to ruling it is also entitled to being worshiped by everyone, and that includes_ you _."_

 _"That's all you came here for? Just to convince me to worship your master?" Pegasus growled, wishing he still had the Millennium Eye due to the haunting situation._

 _"Yeeeeeeeeeessssssssss!" Yami Levi hissed horrifically. "And do you know what happens when you don't worship him?"_

 _"What?" Pegasus sneered, stepping backward without realizing it. "Do you murder the people who don't submit to your false god?"_

 _"Kind of," he replied with a terrifying chuckle. "Now Pegasus, we're going to play a game. If I win, you have to eat your Pokémon. If I lose, I'm going to kill you and your Pokémon, then urinate on your wife's grave. Deal?"_

 _"Of course not, you freak!" Pegasus retorted, throwing the PokéBall in the air. "Latias, it's time to stop this maniac!" The spherical capsule instantly opened, spawning the female eon Pokémon in front of him._

 _"Ooh...nice," Yami Levi snickered, reaching into one of his pockets to pull out three monster cards. "Too bad that little Pokémon is going to die easily!"_

 _The evil counterpart of Levi turned the cards to show their artwork to Pegasus, causing the creator of Duel Monsters to feel a sense of utter confusion._

 _"Why are you wasting time showing me the Egyptian God cards?" Pegasus asked, waving his hand in irritation. "Wait, how did you even get them? They're not in circula-"_

 _The pictures contained within the cards glowed a sickly white, triggering a collection of energy spheres to gently descend towards the floor, and spawn the three beasts that were known to guarantee easy defeats for inexperienced or poorly skilled duelists._

 _Yami Levi had used his bizarre sorcery to manifest them into physical beings, and it was more than likely that Pegasus's Pokémon would have no chance of victory, even if Levi was merely just going to use one of the gods without support from the other two._

 _"Alright guys...ready to spill some blood?" Yami Levi snickered insanely, his eyes widening horrifically. "Ra, why don't you kill Pegasus while your buddies take out his precious little Pokémon?"_

 _Pegasus stared at the winged dragon in disbelief as its mouth opened widely, beginning to spawn energy that would vaporize his body completely and most likely eradicate his Pokémon with him._


	2. Chapter 2: Mr Philips

Pegasus violently woke up from his unpleasant slumber, hyperventilating in response to the grueling nightmare he was plagued with.

"What horrible substance was put in my wine?" he asked himself, leaving his bed to walk over towards the window. "Someone is most certainly getting punished if I have another nightmare like that again."

It was early in the morning, and the guests would also awaken in a short amount of time, which meant Pegasus and his servants would have to prepare them for the journey that awaited the participants.

The creator of Duel Monsters strolled over to his desk, and took his phone to review the list of trainers who had stayed in his mansion for the night in an attempt to take his mind off of the nightmare that had just occurred.

Though the idea of special treatment was something he considered generally shameful, Pegasus wasn't willing to allow anyone to experience the kind of hardships Ash and his friends had recently suffered, and he needed to take advantage of any opportunity to make their journeys a less painful experience.

Just as he was about to put his phone down, Pegasus noticed the group at the bottom of the list, and cringed at the thought of what he possibly had to do once again.

"This is excellent," Pegasus said sarcastically. "Looks like this league will resemble Duelist Kingdom in more ways than I thought. I must alter the events once again, or I'll risk losing my guests to these fiends."

* * *

Upon waking from the awkward sleep, Levi reached into his bag to get the book Misty had written long ago and stared at the cover quietly as he remembered his earlier years, and felt a deep sense of regret for not being able to save her.

Even though he knew it wasn't his fault, Levi was still plagued with guilt and feared the reaction his childhood friend was going to provide if she learned of this, and wondered if he should ask Serena to explain the disaster for him.

He truly despised making the already overburdened woman do something trivial for him, Levi didn't have the strength to continue facing the loss of Misty.

"You alright over there, Levi?" Joey asked with a yawn, unknowingly putting his shirt on backwards.

"I'm fine," he whispered, unaware that he was both lying to Joey and himself. "I'll be even better once I find out that I'm going to be traveling with someone I can tolerate."

"Then you're in luck, because you're gonna be in my group!" Joey said vibrantly, pointing to himself. "And we also got someone who's really good at Pokémon battles as the third member, so we'll be getting that first badge for sure!"

Levi felt the urge to silence Joey, and remained stationary once he noticed that Lia was awake. Though he had only known the girl for a short amount of time so far, Levi could already tell that she would be the one waking those who were still asleep, even if she didn't make a sound.

"Whatever," he muttered unhappily. "As long as that _freak_ Mayuko Nakamura isn't joining us, my attitude won't be that negative."

Joey's expression instantly changed to one that showed nothing but pure embarrassment, rubbing his forehead to remove the perpetual sweat. Lia started to laugh mockingly at the duo, pointing at Levi as she nearly fell out of her chair.

Before the gothic trainer could scold either of the teenagers, he noticed his Sylveon gazing happily at something behind him, which gave Levi a horrific sense of dread as he realized who was also in the room with them.

"Who are you calling a 'freak', loser?" a sassy, tremendously girly voice scoffed from behind him. Twitching violently, Levi gradually turned around to see an extremely tall, sapphire-eyed girl staring at him with a look that indicated disappointment.

The girl was tall enough for her head to nearly touch the ceiling, easily making everyone else almost seem like dwarfs in comparison. She had a rugged figure that was somewhat muscular, though not enough to detract the feminine nature of her appearance.

Her wavy orchid-colored hair was oriented towards her left shoulder, as if she was attempting to style her hair in an exotic way and had failed consistently to the point where it became obvious.

The girl was wearing numerous diamond bracelets on both of her wrists, and had several jeweled piercings on her right ear. She was wearing a yellow shirt with a comical illustration of a shiny Espurr on the front, and tight navy jeans that appeared to have new pockets added recently.

"You've...changed," Levi whispered quietly, retaining his position knowing that Sally would instantly assault anyone who she even _assumed_ was a threat to him. "On the outside, that is. I can tell that you're still just as much of a pain in the ass as you were long ago..."

"Still mad at me for beating you during the last league?" Mayuko asked with a sarcastic grin, poking his nose.

Though he usually detested being touched by almost anyone, Levi knew he had to maintain his stoic attitude to avoid a conflict with Serena, and Mayuko had never been willing to respect him anyway.

"I take it that the two of ya met each other before?" Joey inquired, oblivious to Lia tampering with his picture book.

"Unfortunately...we did _,_ " Levi hissed angrily due to Mayuko continuing to poke his nose, giving him the impulse to swat the girl's hand away. "Stop doing that, _please._ " Mayuko withdrew her hand slowly, retaining grin as if she was planning on harassing Levi later.

"You're totally gonna appreciate me one day," Mayuko said with a cheerful tone. "I'm like, the reason you're going to make it through the first gate. That's why Joey wanted me in the group!"

Levi gave Joey the most horrific glare he could muster, one that struck immense fear in the young duelist. Even if Joey just wanted to win and didn't select Mayuko to make him suffer, Levi already felt massive resentment towards Yugi's best friend.

"L-look, I didn't know you two hated each other!" Joey exclaimed, sweating in angst. "But that doesn't mean we all can't act civil, right?"

"Yes Joey, you _can_ act civil to no matter how you've treated each other," Serena interjected, stepping between the three. "Last night, we saw a talking moon on TV that's obviously dangerous. Judging by how it's been seen by many people who aren't even in the news and what we've seen lately it's safe to say that it's real, and it probably already has friends here who are going to help it carry out whatever it's planning.

"We might have more enemies coming our way, and we can't start fighting each other right now. According to the rules I've read, everyone that's shared this room is on the same team, and the smaller groups will switch members each time we make it through a gate. Mr. Pegasus has made me the team manager, and I get to disqualify anyone who misbehaves. So if you can't get along, I'll have no choice but to remove you from the team."

Levi stared off into space for a moment in embarrassment; Serena was talking to them like they were children, and in spite of knowing Mayuko for years he still couldn't find a way to get along with her.

"What-ever," Mayuko said to Serena, sighing as she walked out of the room. "Just remember: you won't get anywhere without me!" The insufferable adolescent politely closed the door, causing Levi to look down at the floor in disgust.

"Why do you hate that girl anyway?" Serena asked her friend, still clearly unnerved at his attitude towards Mayuko.

"She's _insane_ ," Levi replied quietly, recalling the painful experiences he had with the outlandishly tall girl. "She zealously worships celebrities, and attacks people with her taser whenever they disrespect them...or whenever she's angry in general. Most conversations you would have with her always end with a bizarre topic, and she forces you to accept weird gifts. I heard her parents tried to put her on all sorts of medication, and none of it had any sort of effect at all...whether it be positive or negative."

Lia laughed mockingly once again, this time falling out of her chair and landing on top of Pikachu.

"Lia, that's not funny," Serena told her daughter firmly, returning her attention to the dysfunctional duo. "Levi, you have to be an adult whether I'm with you or not, and I can't be the only one who sets a good example. I'm sure Mayuko will behave herself soon enough."

 _If only that was true,_ Levi thought unhappily, rolling his eyes as he stood up. _But Serena's right, and Misty would want to see me survive being in the same group as Mayuko. If I could survive dealing with a squad of near-omnipotent machines, I can handle being in the same group with a teenage psychopath._

" _Man, that lunatic sure is mean to you, isn't she?_ " the now-familar distorted voice said, making a noise that sounded like a mixture of cackling and giggling. " _Wouldn't it be nice if she was killed? Yeah, yeah, someone should_ KILL _her! Let's do it...together!_ " Levi twitched violently, rapidly looking for the source of the voice.

"Did anyone else hear that...?" Levi almost whispered, horrified at what the voice had just suggested. Levi noticed that Joey's expression had changed to one that indicated an equal amount of fear, though he didn't seem to be a stranger to it for whatever reason.

"You mean my stomach? Everyone usually hears that," Joey replied quietly. "Ya want some of my roasted candy bars for breakfast?"

"No...!" Levi responded, repulsed that Joey would suggest such a thing. "I...never mind, I'm going outside."

The gothic trainer gathered his belongings, and waved for his Sylveon to follow him as he left the room in a hurry, hoping that nobody else would get involved.

"Sheesh, I hope the rest of ya ain't that sensitive..." Joey muttered, narrowing his eyes at the rest of the group.

* * *

After a few minutes of preparations, Serena slowly left the room to look for Pegasus, hoping that Lia wasn't going to humiliate anyone in front of the esteemed creator of Duel Monsters.

The former Pokémon Performer was about to ask one of the butlers where their newfound friend was when she noticed an utterly bizarre middle-aged man standing near the main doors, glaring at anyone who passed him.

This apparently hostile individual appeared to have an athletic physique, as his entire muscle mass appeared to be well-developed and frequently exercised. He appeared to have the words "cut here" tattooed across his neck with a dotted line underneath, and a blazing skull on his left hand.

The man's fully grown hair was arranged in a stern mullet, just as his completely developed beard was kept in a manner that matched his ridiculous attempt at a formal hairstyle.

He currently was wearing only a plain tattered jacket, generic brown boots, and grotesquely stained swim trunks. His hygiene seemed horrendous to the point where frail Pokémon could practically die if they were to come within touching distance of the cruel-looking man, which further added to the grim impression he unintentionally provided.

As the servants of Pegasus strolled by the entryway, the man gave each of them a unique, yet rather dirty look that was followed by a cruel statement.

"You kids look like you struggle with simple tasks," he said with a crude tone, changing his fixation to the younger ones. "Did your mom snort cocaine when you were wasting space in her womb?"

 _What is that guy's problem?!_ Serena thought, appalled at the individual's attitude towards the children.

"Oh, great! Someone invited Trevor Philips to turn this league into a real spectacle," Joey said sarcastically, pointing at the disturbing man. "Pegasus said he wouldn't let this league turn into a shit show, yet he invites a guy who ran around Goldenrod City in his underwear!"

Trevor immediately turned his attention to the normally high-spirited teen, giving him a hostile, yet curious look as he slowly crept in Joey's direction.

"What's wrong with running around in your underwear where everyone can see it?" Trevor questioned, putting his hands in the pockets of his trunks.

"It's a violation of required conduct, Trevor-boy!" Pegasus answered happily, stepping onto the balcony. "You're free to do that in the wilderness of these islands, but you have to behave yourself elsewhere. I wouldn't want anyone to get kicked out for such silly actions!"

"I know the rules, Pegasus!" Trevor snorted, appearing somewhat enraged. "I didn't come here to listen to a flamboyant speech, I'm waiting for my team to wake up and get out of this seven star hote-"

"They're already outside, Trevor-boy," Pegasus interrupted with a merciful tone, pointing to the small crowd outside. "You're free to leave with or without assistance from my generous aids."

Trevor briefly gave Pegasus a harsh smirk, and stomped out of the mansion while he quietly ranted under his breath. Although she knew nothing about him, Serena could already tell that Trevor Philips and his allies would soon become adversaries judging by his demeanor alone.

"Mr. Pegasus, just who _is_ Trevor and why was he acting that way towards your butlers?" Serena asked with genuine concern, hearing Trevor shouting from outside. "Is he going to be a problem for us?"

"According to what I read Trevor was a Canadian Royal Air Force pilot," Pegasus answered casually. "He was discharged for whatever reason, but you don't need to worry about him. I'll get rid of any opportunities potential enemies have at harming you every chance I get."

"Do you know that for certain...or are you just saying that to make us feel secure?" Levi asked calmly, peeking out from behind one of the pillars.

"I'm a man of my word," Pegasus replied with a somewhat overconfident grin, waving in the adjacent direction. "My dear butlers, show my honored guests to the starting point and provide them with the little gifts I had waiting."

Serena was about to ponder the meaning of the cheerful man's statement before his servants hurried her towards the front doors, and brought her into yet another discomforting scene.

* * *

Bakura stared at his ruined cell phone in disgust, wondering whether he should simply discard it or hand it to one of the children that served Pegasus in case Yami Levi would somehow use it to create harm despite its condition.

 _I need to find a way to keep that deranged bastard under control if I'm going to win this time,_ the king of thieves thought in irritation. _Pretending to be a traveling companion just tagging along with Serena's group to fool Pegasus is easy. Dealing with that twisted fucker the Prometheans made will be more of a nightmare than the Pharaoh and that little brat Yugi Muto._

Bakura was about to throw the unusable device at one of the butlers, and stopped when he noticed a malnourished, fierce-looking teenager giving him a frighteningly impatient glare.

The apparently emaciated youth had frighteningly dark, battered skin that implied a history of conflict and torture, along with what looked like a large disturbing scar covering the left side of his face, one that could have been an implication of a failed facial reconstruction surgery attempt.

The adolescent wore ragged gray pants that seemed like they hadn't been washed for months, and a dark leather shirt that had an image of Giovanni's disfigured corpse painted onto it in dry blood.

"Is your name Bakura...?" the teenage boy asked, his voice being far too deep for someone his age. The teen brushed aside his charcoal colored hair to gain a better look at Bakura, revealing his piercing yellow eyes that furthered the viciously merciless impression.

 _Just what I need; more unwanted attention,_ Bakura said bitterly within his mind, quickly gaining an idea. _This boy seems anything but impressionable from the looks of it, though I know by now that anyone on this bloody world can be fooled with the right words...at least to a very small degree. A good portion of this planet's people are too smart to fully trust me, including Serena and her spineless friends..._

"That's a good question, whoever you are!" Bakura answered mockingly, taking a step backward. "If you want to find out, you'll have to answer a question of my own."

"Yep, it's definitely him!" another male voice stated obnoxiously, this one coming from a bizarre man heading their way. "That manipulative bastard is on our team, and we'll have to travel with him until we get through the first gym."

Bakura flinched at the disgusting individual as he opened a bottle of tequila, and swallowed all of its contents in under a second. Just as he could reach into his backpack and take another, the teenager swiped it away before he had the opportunity to raise his chances of getting intoxicated.

"Save getting drunk for after we beat up any losers in our path, okay Trevor?" he told his comrade sternly. "If we run into Ash Ketchum and you're not up to speed, we're not going to win this one even if this sadist is backing us up."

 _So they_ do _have an idea on my true nature after all,_ Bakura thought in amusement. _But how would they know what I'm like, and why aren't they taking action against me?_

"You better change your attitude towards me, gentlemen!" Bakura said with a chuckle. "I _didn't_ sign myself up for yet another of Maximillion Pegasus's series of predicaments, I'm merely a companion traveling with Ash Ketchum and the rules of this league allow participants to have those. Just because this is similar to Duelist Kingdom doesn't mean it's the same, and I am _not_ on your team."

The teen quietly sighed at Bakura's words as Trevor patted him on the back, and was about to say something before his middle-aged companion interrupted him.

"We don't need these other would-be champs to join us, Azazel," Trevor told the male adolescent, reaching into the backpack while he wasn't paying attention. "Besides, I'm sure we'll find someone who matches the description of our teammate some place else. That pretty-boy Pegasus told us that the third person on our group was a prick that looked creepy, was full of his or herself, and was almost as good at Pokémon battles as Ash. That could be-"

"Me!" the voice of Lia Ketchum shouted from behind, sounding blatantly irritated at the two. "Are you freaks Trevor Philips and Azazel Ihejirika?"

Trevor prepared to pull a switch blade from his pocket, and turned to face the rude girl with a frightening expression, one that indicated horrendous amounts of anger. Azazel grabbed his partner by the arm, and managed to successfully spare Ash Ketchum's cruel daughter from a seemingly early death.

"Do you want us to get kicked out before we even get to the first gym?" Azazel hissed, causing Trevor to growl furiously. Bakura grinned at the already dysfunctional group, and knew that Lia was about to make another provocative statement.

"Something tells me you're not even going to make it to the first gym," she said with an arrogant grin. "Follow me, I wanna get there and get the first badge before anyone else. That way everyone is going to see how awesome I am!"

Bakura chuckled at the girl's ego as they started along the path, ignoring how Trevor and his young friend were walking slower than Lia. The king of thieves was amused that an offspring of Ash Ketchum could be so egotistical and full of herself, especially since there was no public evidence that she was anywhere close to being a Pokémon Master like her father.

"I can make sure this girl won't literally annoy you to death," Bakura told the duo, giving them a devilish grin before they looked at him. "But first, you must prove to me that I'm not going to hate you. You can start by telling me how you know my nature, and your history as well."

"I don't think so," Azazel replied coldly, giving Bakura a brief glare before returning his focus to Lia. "You're too god damn freaky for me to even want to look at you. What makes you think I'm going to-"

"HEY! We can tell this creepy asshole our stories and how we know about him," Trevor interrupted, giving Bakura an amused look. "We know about you cause our buddy visited your Facebook page and hacked your computer, then gave us your diary before your machine apparently died."

 _So_ that's _why my computer was having a seizure before my apartment was incinerated by the Officer Jenny students,_ Bakura thought angrily, disgusted at the revelation. _But why would this fool tell me that if he wants me to be his ally?_

"Now I'm gonna tell you _my_ story," Trevor continued with an emotional tone, tightening his fists. "When I was a young boy, I was the toughest, brightest, and most talented boy in my region. I burnt down shopping malls, punished an evil hockey coach, slayed the beasts that came my way. The grown-ups didn't like me doing these things, but I'm damn sure there was absolutely nothing bad that came out of it! Well, except the kids who got burned alive.

"I went to high school, and I quickly dropped out due to it being completely useless. I had talents that I could refine without a public school education, and that included flying jets. After a few years of 'fun', I signed up for the Canadian Royal Air Force to lend my talent...but, some mother fucking **WITCH** decided that I _shouldn't_ be allowed to fly! She claimed I was 'mentally unstable' and couldn't be allowed to serve, and thus I was discharged. The said witch lost her head one night later."

 _Something tells me you took it,_ Bakura thought in amusement, grinning at the seemingly sociopathic man. _It seems that you and I have a mutual liking for taking lives, Trevor. That's good, I could always use more pawns to further my progress. Although I have a faint feeling that_ you _will be more useful than Ash and those peasants who accompany him._

"Then I met a fierce warrior named Michael who slayed beasts we called 'cops' and robbed evil lairs we named 'banks'. Together we were...almost unstoppable, but I got caught on one job and got put in prison for four months. Meanwhile, Michael met a demon named Amanda and the two fell in lust. They had two kids I tried to save from corruption, and Michael gradually stopped giving a shit about our career! Our career was worth more than his useless family could over hope to be, but _nooooooo_ , he had to spend more time with _them_.

"And then we met an asshole named Brad, and planned a heist over a decade ago. It went fine until an alarm went off, and we had to run away. Our driver came with a car, and we were preparing to run through a train crossing. The train came along, fucked up our car, and we all had to jump out. We were about to get into our chopper before government agents ambushed us, and killed Brad, then seriously hurt Michael. I didn't wanna leave him, but I had no choice..."

Bakura noticed tears were welling up in Trevor's eyes, and grinned once he realized just how many ways he could manipulate the middle-aged criminal. Trevor's expression then changed from one of sadness to one of disappointment, giving Bakura a further impression of how insane this man actually was.

"After years of running from the damn cops, I made a new life for myself out in the desert. I got myself a trailer in Sandy Shores, and built myself a big business with two of my newer best friends; Ron and Wade. Things were going swell until I learned that Mikey wasn't dead after all. So I paid him a visit, met his new buddy Franklin, and we went on a series of new criminal adventures after that.

"I became really good friends with Franklin, his pal Lamar, and a few other weirdos in that rat-hole city Michael moved over to. We had some interesting experiences during our time off, and bonded...in almost _all_ senses.

"Then, after we managed to defeat all of the crime lords, corrupt government agencies, and any group that would pose a threat to Michael's family of losers and Franklin, things were going swell for a little bit. But after Michael and Franklin decided to completely cut themselves off from crime, and wanted to live normal lives..."

Trevor discontinued walking and looked at the ground, beginning to weep after he stopped speaking. Instead of verbally protesting Trevor's behavior, Azazel simply tugged on his friend's shoulder to follow him towards the trees.

"How touching," Lia laughed sarcastically, turning her attention to Bakura. "It's funny that Trevor is trying to trick you into joining them by using pity."

"Oh, is _that_ what he's doing?" Bakura replied doubtfully. "It's nice to know that people are starting to realize how badly they need me, especially if you consider what's waiting."

"Are you talking about that moon?" Lia asked rhetorically, oblivious to Trevor throwing a fit behind her. "You don't seriously believe everything that's on the news, do you?"

"You better change your attitude towards me, young lady," Bakura stated with an evil smirk. "If that moon does reach this world and tries to destroy it, I might not feel generous enough to save you."

"Oh please, we don't need you at all!" Lia retorted arrogantly, turning her back to Bakura with a laugh. "All we need to do to keep the world safe is just find Jirachi, and wish for that moon to blow up or whatever. Those two losers over there might need help, but I can win this league all by myself."

Bakura was about to protest Lia's ego, and stopped at the sound of something bizarre rising into the air behind them. Though he didn't see what it was, Bakura could already sense that this was an opportunity to accelerate his agenda.

Without giving it another thought, Bakura tapped into the energies of his Millennium Item and within a second, the king of thieves vanished from sight.

* * *

Noticing the sudden golden flash, the daughter of Ash Ketchum turned to see that the savior of her parents was absent from the scene. No traces of the disturbing man were visible, and it was clear that Bakura had kept true to his words.

"Where did you go?!" Lia yelled angrily, feeling the urge to slam something. Bakura was already too frightening for anyone to trust him, but now there was concrete evidence that the mysterious man was simply manipulating those he met for his own purposes.

 _Whatever, I don't need some creep to help me win this league,_ Lia thought in frustration. _I can do all of this by myself, and maybe use that prize to help mom. Unlike dad, she actually cares for me!_

Lia's train of thought was interrupted at an irritating sound, and turned to see a hot air balloon that matched the description of something Lia's mother had told her stories about since the days of her childhood.

The daughter of the famous Pokémon Master turned to see the infamous hot air balloon of the universally despised criminal trio, and smiled fiercely at the chance to earn an achievement many would smile upon.

"Prepare for trouble!" a tart female voice shouted from the aircraft, sounding excessively irritating to Lia.

"Make it double!" an effeminate male voice joined in, this one sounding calmer and cool-headed in comparison.

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all people within our nation!"

"To denounce the evil of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Hey, it's Team Retard!" Trevor shouted, quickly brandishing a minigun. "I've always wanted to kill these annoying fucks ever since I found out about them!"

 _I'd rather see them embarrassed for the rest of their lives,_ Lia giggled within her mind, pulling out a Pokeball.

"Hey, Old Twerp! We're Team Rocket, not Team..." Meowth started, discontinuing as he stared down from the balloon to see who insulted them. "Holy crap, it's Trevor Philips!"

Jessie and James exchanged horrified looks upon realizing who they were dealing with, and fearfully hugged each other in a comical manner.

"J-J-James, l-let's just skip stealing the Twerp's Pikachu today and go home!" Jessie stated, squeezing her partner by the shoulder to force him to comply.

"You stupid shits aren't going anywh-" Trevor tried to say before Lia interrupted him, shoving the apparent sociopath aside to confront the adversarial trio.

"Let me get this straight," Lia began, fiercely glaring at Jessie and James. "It's been over a decade and a half since you've tried to steal my dad's Pikachu, and not only did you fail every single time, but you also had the option to take Pokémon that are much more powerful than Pikachu could ever hope to be. Despite this, the only you goal you still have _even after all this time_ is taking Pikachu? You're not even going to bother trying to take something more valuable, like Yugi's Egyptian god cards?"

"Yugi, that one twerp with ridiculous hair is here too?!" James gasped in awe, oblivious to Trevor taking aim at the port engine of their craft.

"You three retards are dead," Azazel snarled, pulling a grenade out of his bag.

Lia raised an eyebrow at the adolescent boy's weapon, and eagerly awaited the punishment of her parents' old adversaries.

Lia was generally disgusted at Team Rocket's track record, and their attempts at harming her mother fueled a deep seated hatred towards the three.

Seeing Trevor and his young companion threaten the trio's lives was satisfying to her, though Lia knew that allowing the two males to kill them was definitely the wrong thing to do.

"Let these idiots live," Lia demanded with an arrogant tone, grinning at what she could do with the three if they survived. "I could use someone to have fun with in my tent later."

Before another word could be spoken, Trevor fired his vile weapon and sent a stream of horrific projectiles at Team Rocket's aircraft. The bullets shredded the left engine to the point where it caught fire, triggering the frightened thieves to leap from the doomed aircraft and land in the trees.

"Venomoth, come out!" Lia shouted grimly, throwing a Pokeball in the air to send out the Poison Moth Pokémon.

A sinister smirk formed on Lia's face the minute her predatory Pokémon materialized in front of her, and felt grim excitement when she saw Jessie poking her head out of the trees.

"Use stun spore on Jessie, then bring her to me!" Lia ordered, pointing at the confused woman that pestered her parents so many times in the past.

"Mime Junior, save Jessie from the Twerp's kid!" James cried out, sending out his own Pokémon.

Azazel stared silently at the juvenile Pokémon, clearly perplexed that James didn't strengthen his Mime Junior in spite of all the time that had passed.

"How long has he had that thing, again?" Azazel asked Trevor quietly, causing the middle aged thug to cringe furiously.

"Who gives a shit?! What matters right now is that we take down these stupid assholes!" Trevor replied viciously, pulling out a Pokeball of his own. "Hydreigon, time to beat the shit out of Team Rocket!"

As if hoping to hit James in the process, Trevor threw his Hydreigon's Pokeball in Team Rocket's general direction. The storage device hit the womanly man directly in the forehead, and sent him falling out of the tree on his back just as it opened, and sent out Trevor's Pokémon.

The Hydreigon let out a dramatic cry as Lia's Venomoth began to harass Mime Junior, and glared at James like he was the Brutal Pokémon's typical prey.

"That creepy blue-haired girl doesn't think we should kill Team Rocket," Trevor said, slowly stepping closer to James. "So, we'll do the next best thing; severely cripple him. Use dark pulse on that fruity fuck!"

The draconian-like Pokémon opened all of its mouths, and sent three streams of black energy at the terrified criminal trembling before him.

Before he could become disfigured, Mime Junior shoved James aside to take the blow, and was struck directly by the vile attack. Mime Junior was thrown into the adjacent tree, and consumed by the detonation that followed it.

"M-Mime Junior?!" James cried out in the disbelief, shivering at the thought of what happened to the Mime Pokémon.

The adolescent offspring of Ash Ketchum began laughing at James' despair, almost ignoring Jessie making it to the ground and readying a Pokémon of her own.

"That's not funny, you cretin!" Jessie shouted, tossing a dirty Pokeball into the air. "Wobbuffet, let's teach this brat a lesson!"

Lia raised an eyebrow at the sight of Jessie's only Johto Pokémon materializing in front of her, and wondered what else hadn't changed with Team Rocket. Not only did they neglect training the Pokémon they had for _years_ , they still had the _exact same mission_ they started before Lia was even born.

"You really came unprepared, didn't you?" Lia mocked, beginning to laugh once again. "Didn't you know? My dad won numerous leagues _in secret_ , and he's the world's strongest Pokémon Master by now. You're too weak to steal Pikachu, and too weak to get through this league. You're better off robbing candy stores than fighting us."

"We'll see about that!" Jessie retorted, pointing at Lia's Venomoth. "Wobbuffet, use bide!"

Jessie's Wobbuffet shuddered in place, making a quiet groan as it prepared for the following attack.

" _That's_ what you're going to make him do?" Lia asked mockingly, giving Jessie a condescending grin. "You've become a terrible Pokémon Trainer, haven't you? Venomoth, use signal beam until that Wobbuffet starts crying!"

A multi-colored orb of light spawned in front of Venomoth's mandibles, and quickly transformed into a wide, long stream of energy that practically swallowed the Wobbuffet on contact.

The patient Pokémon wailed as his opponent relentlessly bombarded him with the deadly beams, doing its absolute best to make him suffer.

"Wobbuffet, no!" Jessie cried out, her eyes tearing up at the sight of her Pokémon being ruthlessly punished. "U-use counter! Don't let this bully kill you!"

While this ridiculously one-sided battle had been nothing more than an amusing game to Lia, and she deeply enjoyed Team Rocket's overemotional reactions, someone claiming she was a 'bully' usually irritated her.

This occurrence was even more annoying seeing as how it came from a member of Team Rocket, and hypocrisy was one thing she dreamed of destroying, aside from punishing the infamous trio for inconveniencing her parents in the past.

"Venomoth, lay off the signal beams," Lia commanded, her tone being _far_ colder this time. "We're gonna make sure this'll be Jessie's last battle."

Venomoth slowly ascended in the air, as if preparing the most lethal attack he could possibly use.

"That's what you think, Twerp Junior!" Jessie retorted, pointing at Lia in a poor attempt to express her internal agony. "Wobbuffet, use count-"

"So you're fine with me killing them after this?" Trevor asked rhetorically, unknowingly causing Jessie to discontinue her command.

Lia was about to protest Trevor's inquiry, though his young partner provided his own vocal intervention on the matter.

"Maybe we shouldn't kill them just yet, T," Azazel stated, taking an emotionless look at Jessie and James. "I overhead one of Ash's friends talking about how they got here, and there's no way these three could have figured out they were here unless an intel officer told them. That means Team Rocket didn't come here for Pikachu, they're probably after something Pegasus stashed on one of these islands, or..."

Although his youthful friend silenced himself after mentioning a treasure Pegasus stored on one of his territories, Trevor visibly realized exactly what Azazel was implying and in the blink of an eye, Trevor bashed James in the back of the head with his minigun to knock him out.

The unconscious Team Rocket agent hit the grass face first, and somehow twitched in spite of his condition. Jessie stared at Trevor in disbelief; Lia Venomoth ruthlessly harming her Wobbuffet was bad enough for her, but hitting James with an extremely heavy firearm was one of the few things that made her anger reach its peak.

"Wobbuffet...destroy that despicable sociopath!" Jessie cried out, her voice becoming consumed by her rage.

Though he seemed confused on how to attack Trevor given his limited amount of moves, Wobbuffet still charged at the criminal as quickly as he could.

The malicious daughter of Ash smiled sadistically once again; Lia Ketchum was finally going to get the vengeance she craved ever since she was a little girl. While she legitimately hoped her mother would approve of this, the satisfaction would outweigh the criticism.

"Now, you idiots are gonna get it!" Lia shouted, turning her focus to the bug type Pokémon that loomed above them. "Venomoth, hit that useless Wobbuffet with bug buzz, and make Jessie cry!"

The Poison Moth Pokémon complied the very moment he heard Lia, and dove downward towards Wobbuffet at a speed that was near-impossible for his species. Venomoth's wings glowed with a sickening crimson hue just as he made an obscene buzzing noise once he was merely a few inches away from the Wobbuffet.

A disturbing flash of orange light enveloped the entire area, and once the almost-blinding display of light died out, Jessie's disfigured Wobbuffet was flying into the air towards the mountains.

Unable to contain her patronizing sense of satisfaction any longer, Lia laughed hysterically at Jessie, struggling to keep herself from falling over backward. Trevor was already dragging James by his hair over towards the nearest village, while Jessie was laying on the ground in a fetal position.

The abnormally immature woman had already been on the verge of expelling tears, and now she was bawling at the brutal defeat.

Satisfied with the outcome of the battle, Lia returned the Venomoth to his Pokémon, and stuffed it in her backpack.

"Trevor, wait for us," Azazel told his friend, taking a glance at Lia. "I don't like this girl either, but if we suddenly leave her here, Pegasus and his lackeys are going to think we're not planning on following the rules."

Trevor took a brief glance at Lia, and dropped James on the ground as he gazed at their surroundings. It was clear that the lunatic was planning their next course of action, although he obviously did not fear the consequences.

"Good point, A," Trevor replied, nodding with an amused expression. "But we just took down the dumbasses who've been trolling Ash for two years before their fifteen year disappearance.

"Might I also add that they did some pretty mean shit, and contributed to some mighty fine atrocities. I don't plan on being friends with Ash and his lame family, friends, and the other twats who like him. But in this situation, it's like the thing with Steve Haines and Devin Weston. We gotta play by their rules, then we get the prize right before we fuck 'em!"

 _I don't know if he's referring to sex or the other meanings of that word_ , Lia thought in suspicion. _But it's funny that they're saying that in front of someone who can clearly hear them._

"Uh...Trevor? Lia can hear us," Azazel pointed out with a slightly anxious tone. "Forget what I said, if we don't leave her here, _we're screwed._ If we kill her, Serena won't hesitate to make us suffer. I'm not in the mood to ask the princess to save our asses, again. And I'd _really_ prefer that Pegasus doesn't put a fifty two billion bounty on our heads."

Trevor and Azazel stared each other in the eyes for a minute, and then exchanged mutual nods before glaring at Lia. The normally fearless Pokémon Trainer felt the urge to send out all of her Pokémon, but it was too late.

Trevor dug into his bag furiously, finding numerous durable ropes while Azazel drew a pistol and pointed it at Lia's head. Trevor rapidly tied Lia's arms together, and dragged her towards a tree.

"Stay put if you don't want the trigger pulled," Azazel snarled as Trevor tied Lia's legs together. "And stay quiet while you're at it."

Azazel's crazed partner pulled out a roll of thick brown tape, and effectively pulled out a large strip. Trevor brutally taped Lia's mouth shut, and tied the girl's legs together before tying her to the tree.

"Shame this had to happen," Trevor said, almost sounding sarcastic as he snatched Lia's bag. "Pegasus was probably planning on handing your dad the title of league champion on a silver platter anyway, and that's not what we came here for. We're after something worth more than that will ever be, and it's a good thing you won't be warning anyone."

Azazel then aimed his pistol at Jessie's head, and shot at the demoralized Team Rocket agent several times. Though Lia didn't see what was happening, she knew that Azazel had brutally put an end to Jessie's life just as Trevor ran off while carrying James.

"You're right about that, T," Azazel whispered, turning away from Lia. The teenage criminal sprinted in Trevor's direction, and quickly disappeared from sight.

Knowing that the two thugs were gone, Lia tried to shout for help from anyone that was anywhere close by, though her words were completely incoherent and thoroughly muffled.

Today was meant to be one of the greatest Lia ever had; not only was it a chance at impressing and pleasing her mother, but it was a guarantee that the Team Rocket trio would never harm her family again.

Although Team Rocket wouldn't be a problem now, Lia was gagged and bound to a tree, and her Pokémon had been stolen. In addition to that, they now had new enemies that were potentially more dangerous than Team Rocket, and it was likely that nobody was going to find Lia.

What was going to be one of her best days ended up being Lia's worst, and possibly one of the last days she was ever going to have.


	3. Chapter 3: Pegasus vs Giovanni

Within the last few weeks, Levi's existing friendships had strengthened exponentially, and he had gotten surprisingly close to his newer friends. He had especially taken a liking to Serena.

As of recent, Levi gained an odd amount of affection for the former Pokémon performer, though at the current point in time he was rather irritated with her due to allowing Joey to dictate the team placement.

However, that was absolutely nothing in comparison to what he was feeling towards Joey. While Levi didn't hate Joey at all, he was considerably angry with him due to Joey allowing Levi's former rival to be part of their team.

As the trio walked along the oddly smooth path through the strangely large field, Levi continued to think of ways to get Mayuko removed from the team, or obtain transportation that would get them to their desired destination sooner.

Levi was getting particularly nervous once he noticed it was mid-afternoon, and couldn't help but feel the impulse to criticize Joey once again.

"We've only known each other for less than a full day," he whispered to Yugi's best friend. "Yet you take actions that closely resemble an act of spite...why?"

"Oh, come on!" Joey complained, attracting Mayuko's attention. "We've already won six battles, and ya still hate her? You really gotta learn how to let things go, Levi-"

" _You_ were the one who earned four of those victories," Levi interrupted, leaning closer to the blonde teen. "And you got three of them all by yourself _without_ our help. We're perfectly fine without Mayuko."

Joey looked as if he wanted to make a counter argument, though it was obvious he didn't know what to say at this moment.

Mayuko however, seemed like she was in the mood to have her own antagonistic conversation with Levi.

"It's been like, years since our last fight and you're still totally mad about what happened?" Mayuko asked with a slightly annoyed tone.

 _How am I going to escape from this maniac? There's only a few trees here to hide behind,_ Levi thought before looking in the direction of a collection of trees nearby. _Of course...I can go in there, and make it seem like I was ambushed by wild Pokémon and had to run for the nearest settlement._

"I take getting struck in the privates personally," Levi replied with an honest tone. "Especially when it happens in front of Cynthia, and her army of fans. How would you feel if something embarrassing happened to you in front of a famous celebrity?"

"You've said that to me soooooooo many times," Mayuko said in disappointment, turning her back to the individual she used to tease. "Fine, I'll say it _again_ ; I'm sorry, okay?"

"I get the feeling he ain't gonna be satisfied with that," Joey sighed with a comical expression. "I've seen guys who don't forgive people even if they apologize a hundred times."

"Um...if I may," Levi almost whispered, looking at the plants nearby. "I have to...you know, dispense-"

"Like, no need to share details," Mayuko interrupted, giving him a feminine wave with her hand. "Just don't keep us waiting for hours, alright?"

 _Don't worry, you'll figure out what I actually plan on doing soon enough,_ Levi thought with a grin, gesturing for his Sylveon to follow him, plucking a taser from Mayuko's pocket when she wasn't looking. _Once Serena figures out how utterly_ insane _you truly are, I'll get off the hook pretty quick._

Once the two teenagers discontinued focusing on him, Levi ran as quickly as possibly could into the woods with his main partner Pokémon close behind. Within seconds, he was out of Joey and Mayuko's field of view completely.

* * *

 _I should be able to make it to the village without arousing suspicion,_ the gothic trainer thought calmly, slowing down to catch his breath. _Pegasus is a generous man, he'll probably loosen up the rules so we don't have to travel with people we can't stand, and I don't have to do ridiculous things like thi-_

Levi's train of thought was interrupted by his Sylveon crying out in shock, and instantly felt a rock form in his gut in spite of not actually having a clue on why she was upset.

"What is it, Sally...?" he whispered, slowly creeping through the woods. Levi caught the sight of his normally cheerful Pokémon in morbid distress, hysterically pointing her ribbons at a pond of blood.

Human blood.

"What..." Levi tried to say, stopping due to the angst felt from seeing her _this_ upset. His Sylveon only acted like this on very few occasions, and those occasions usually involved something unspeakably terrible.

Levi hesitantly turned his head to see the source of the mess, and saw Jessie's bullet-ridden body laying on a patch of dirt. The gothic trainer stared at the corpse of Ash's old adversary in disbelief, struggling to register the scene in his mind.

"Jessie..." he whispered, taking a closer look at her lifeless body. "...who would do this to you?"

Although she did a fair amount of unethical things, Levi felt that she didn't deserve to die a death like this, let alone suffer death to begin with. Yet someone had ruthlessly murdered Jessie, and left her body to eventually be devoured by wild Pokémon.

 _Pegasus basically said that nobody was going to get hurt,_ Levi thought, shocked that the esteemed president of Industrial Illusions failed to keep his promise. _Yet..._ this _happened._

" _Why does this make you sad? She was annoying,_ " Yami Levi questioned, sounding disturbed at his host's attitude. " _I...I would have killed her, yeah!_ I _would have_ KILLED _her, and you...you would too, yeah!_ "

"Shut up..." Levi growled, knowing Yami would be able to clearly hear him. The former admirer of Ash stood up, and left Jessie's body as he walked towards his main Pokémon, hoping she knew he wasn't talking to her.

"You know, I really don't understand you!" Yami Levi shouted, this time from a different source.

"What the hell...?!" he whispered to himself, turning around to see the evil spirit's reflection in a puddle of water beside Jessie's blood.

"Eheheh... _hi,_ " Yami Levi snickered with his typical deranged expression. "You weren't expecting to see me outside of your head this soon, were you?"

Levi's Sylveon stared at the puddle in both horror and complete confusion, clearly awestruck at what was occurring.

"Don't act so freaked out," Yami said to Levi's Pokémon angrily, quietly growling at her behavior. "The magic I use let's me do more than just mess with technology, make energy beams that kill people in seconds, and create more... _friends._ It let's me go places _you_ can't get to, and I get to work when Bakura _thinks_ he has me locked down. Isn't that cool?"

Levi felt the compulsion to insult the evil spirit, but decided that he wasn't worth being ridiculed, and proceeded to move elsewhere.

"Hey, where do you think you're fucking going?!" he yelled viciously, his voice sounding much deeper this time.

"A place where I hopefully don't have to listen to your crap," Levi responded with a harsh tone, turning to face his sinister counterpart. "Do you really think we're going to be friends? Do you honestly think I'm going to forgive you and those heartless automatons after what happened to Misty?"

"You're going to hang on to that forever, aren't you?" Yami Levi laughed, his voice returning to what passed as normal for him. "You don't want to trust me? Okay, but you can't trust Bakura either! If you want proof, just take a look at what happened to Lia. She was in danger, and Bakura just left her there!"

"What are you talking about?" Levi questioned, almost hissing at the deranged spirit that Bakura trapped within him.

"Go over to the one of the shorter trees, and take a look for yourself!" Yami Levi answered happily before "running" off, leaving no trace of his presence in the puddle except for the insulting farewell. "Bye now!"

After the evil spirit "disappeared", Levi heard what sounded like angry muffled screams, then turned to see Lia tied up and gagged next to the tree Yami described. Sighing, Levi carefully stepped closer to Lia, slightly worried that she was feeling homicidal due to the enraged and crazed look in her off-colored eyes.

Unsure of what to do after the day was out, Levi ripped the tape off of Lia's mouth, which caused her to let out a cry of pain that quickly gave Levi a mild headache. Before he could ask Lia if she was alright, the daughter of Ash Ketchum began to interrogate Levi.

"Did you see anyone on your way here?!" Lia shouted furiously, her tone being nothing short of horrifying.

"Aside from Jessie...I didn't," Levi answered, struggling to keep himself together and withstand dealing with Lia in her horrifying mood. "Are you okay? Do you know who's responsible for what happened to Jessi-"

"Dammit, so much for getting some payback!" she yelled, looking even angrier than she already was. "When I was on my way to that worthless village, Bakura decided to leave when Team Rocket showed up. We fought those losers, and when we won the older guy admitted that he and his friend are criminals who are going to kill everyone they don't like when they get their precious little prize. Then one of them tied me to this tree and took my Pokémon, and the kid shot Jessie."

"What happened to Meowth and James?" Levi whispered, blatantly disturbed at the news.

"The guy who tied me to the damn tree took James," Lia answered, looking like she wanted to kill the apparent kidnapper. "I don't know what happened to Meowth. He probably ran away after that kid with the weird scar killed Jessie, but I don't really care!"

Levi nodded somberly at her reply, and set the taser aside as he began to loosen the ropes that bonded the infuriated girl to the tree. The minute Lia was completely free from the bondage, the angered teen swiped the taser off of the ground and pointed it at Levi.

Levi's Sylveon cried out in both fear and anger, taking a battle stance before her master spoke out against the ungrateful act. The gothic trainer tightened his fists in disgust; he didn't expect Serena's offspring to be _this_ terrible, let alone threaten one of her mother's friends.

"That's a nice way to thank someone who just rescued you," Levi growled sarcastically, completely disgusted that Lia was capable of doing such an awful thing.

"Shut it and listen to me," Lia demanded as her enraged expression turned into an extremely sadistic grin. "If you want to keep your cock and what's behind it, then you're gonna help me get some payback. Got it?"

Levi stood motionlessly as he glowered at the contemptible girl; normally he wouldn't hesitate to defend himself, but in this case it would have come at the cost of harming the attacker, and the assailant was the daughter of two people he deeply cared for.

 _I could just run,_ Levi thought, knowing that Lia was going to strike him if he moved too slow. _But she'd be able to catch up to me, and the others are too far away. Plus, Yami is probably going to access my phone the minute I start it up...though that might be worth the risk._

With no other viable option, Levi nodded while giving Lia a purely disgusted glare. The unethical girl then delivered a kick to Levi's groin, causing him to fall on the ground face forward with a depressing groan.

"That was just to remind you of what's going to happen if you don't do what I want," Lia whispered into his ear. "You can get up now."

In spite of sensing that the physical abuse wasn't over, Levi slowly attempted to stand before Lia punched him in the face, sending him falling over backward. Sally began crying at the sight of her closest friend in pain, and prepared to attack Lia before she spoke once again.

"Hey, don't kill me! I was only going to hurt him in two different places," Lia shouted, returning her attention to Levi after Sally calmed down. "And _that_ was to give a taste of what's going to happen if those stupid shits don't suffer for tying me up."

 _So...I'm basically Lia's slave until she gets her revenge,_ Levi thought bitterly, successfully standing up. _How can she willingly do this to someone who freed her?!_

"Alright Lia, you'll get your way... _this time_ ," Levi hissed, gesturing for Sally to sit next to him. "Just give me a minute..."

Lia started walking back towards the dirt path on the fields as Levi's Sylveon healed the physical damage he just suffered, causing him to sharply exhale at the pain.

"Now...I definitely wish I never went on Trip's cruise," Levi said in complete disgust, mentally summarizing everything he had to deal with now while he turned on his phone. "How can that _monster_ possibly be Serena's biological daughter...?"

* * *

The last few hours had been highly awkward and uncomfortable for Serena, as she and Luis had been given a meeting point on the beach to join with the members of their assigned groups.

Luis hadn't said much to Serena, and the former Pokémon Performer could tell that something was extensively troubling him.

"Luis, you haven't said anything for two hours," Serena commented, giving the Spaniard a light poke on the shoulder. "Something has to be bothering you if you're not willing to talk even after you have your cigars?"

"Agh...okay, I'll come clean," Luis responded carelessly, taking a glance at the ocean. "I don't think we can trust Bakura at all. Think about it, he was willing to get the evil guy out of Brock but didn't fix Levi all the way, and then he runs off without telling us where he's even going. And doesn't it seem a little weird that he didn't elaborate on why Pegasus doesn't like him?"

"I talked to Mr. Pegasus about this," Serena stated, taking a glance at the ocean. "The only Bakura he said he remembers is a boy who simply traveled with Yugi during the Duelist Kingdom events, and Pegasus hardly remembered him at all."

Luis sighed deeply, slowly continuing on the path towards the meeting point. It was clear that the researcher was struggling with more than just present events, and Bakura wasn't the only concern he had.

"I'm not entirely over what happened on Trip's cruise," Luis admitted, stopping to look at the ocean again. "It brought back a lot of bad memories, and people I could have helped died back there. I should have continued research on..."

"On what?" Serena asked, becoming suspicious at Luis's words. The former police officer had always seemed a bit odd in some ways to most people, though now he was acting peculiar, even by his standards.

"Serena, there's a lot of things about me that you guys don't know," he replied, ignoring her question. "I'll tell you when we're at a place where Bakura, our newer pals, and Levi aren't hanging around.

"If Levi's there to hear it, the evil guy Bakura locked away will get his hands on info he doesn't need, and Bakura could use this against anyone if he has second thoughts about us. As for our newer friends, I can tell they haven't exactly earned our trust just yet."

"Fair enough," Serena acknowledged, knowing that it would be best to respect Luis's feelings. "When we get to the village, we'll relax for a few days before we continue. There's bound to be something there that will cheer everyone up."

Though it was clear Luis disagreed with Serena, he obviously wasn't in the mood to even say anything that had the potential to make the conversation even mildly negative. Instead, Luis simply continued walking without uttering anything, not even a respectful comment.

Before she could put any thought into the present situation, Serena heard her phone ringing within her purse. Without thinking, the eventual spouse of Ash Ketchum swiped her phone out of the outer pocket, and sighed at who was calling her.

"I knew he was going to call me," she sighed, tapping the answer button and putting the speaker close to her ear. "Is everything okay, Levi?"

" _Serena...things didn't go the way we would have preferred them to go,_ " Levi answered, sounding exceptionally nervous. " _Listen, please go straight to Pegasus or talk to him on your phone the first chance you get before you tell our friends._ "

"Levi, calm down," Serena told him patiently, maintaining the firmness she was now used to giving him. "What is going on, exactly? Is anyone in danger?"

" _Anyone's in danger if they're around that menace you call your daughter_ _,_ " Levi replied, taking a tremendously deep breath before continuing. " _After my group won a few battles, I wasn't able to tolerate Mayuko anymore. So I tried to stall her as long as I could, and I ran to the woods. I found Lia tied a tree, and it turns out that Trevor and whoever he was with are criminals that are planning on taking a valuable asset._

" _Once they realized Lia was listening when they spoke of this, they tied her up and ran away with her Pokémon. Now Lia wants revenge, and she threatened to seriously injure me if I didn't help her. Right now I'm too exhausted to flee from her, and she'll catch up to me no matter what._ "

Serena remained quiet for a minute as a tremendous explosion of anger surged through her, although it wasn't as severe as what she was feeling during the disaster on Trip's private cruise liner.

"Let me talk to her," Serena told Levi, her tone indicating nothing but disappointment and anger directed at her daughter. "Put it on speaker phone right now, and let me talk to h-"

" _Levi, who the hell are you talking to? Did you call the security team?!_ " Lia shouted in the background.

" _I'm not talking to anyone who will put you in a cage for the rest of your life if that's what you're wondering,_ " Levi retorted, sounding horrendously resentful. " _Please, go back to whatever mundane activity you were performing._ "

As if performing an automated emergency task, the phone hung up after Levi made his rude comment directed at Lia, making Serena stare off into space.

The overworked woman had already been through plenty of horrific experiences, and now she was overloaded with numerous emotions once again.

Her own daughter had not only gone crazy, but was making one of Serena's friends suffer in the name of vengeance. Serena prepared to call the law enforcement, Pegasus's security force, and anyone that could help remedy the situation.

But before she could do any of that, her phone went off once again and Serena instinctively answered it without looking at the number this time.

"Hello?" Serena sighed, unaware of the unfriendly nature of her tone. "May I ask who's calling?"

" _I'm...I'm Levi, the guy who's a good friend now,_ " the voice of Yami Levi giggled, his tone lacking any seriousness whatsoever. " _And...and you want to do anything for your friends, right?_ Anything? _"_

"I'd hate to break it to you, but I'm afraid that _you_ aren't the Levi I care about," Serena stated in a purely honest manner. "If you want me to even consider doing something for you, you'll have to tell me how and _why_ you're calling me."

" _You know I got special powers,_ " Yami Levi responded, sounding crazier this time. " _These powers let me do all kinds of neat stuff with your technology, and that means I can interact with your phones behind the scenes if you know what I mean. Since I can do that, I'll still be able to get my way even if I don't get to use an active body._

" _Now, you want to know why I'm calling you? I'm calling you to let you know that Bakura is a backstabbing douche, and that the team placement was messed with. Pegasus meant to keep all the bad guys together, although_ someone _changed it to put the ones you care about in danger._

" _If you want to know who that is, just follow the other guy to wherever your kid is taking him. I installed an app on your phone that will track his, and you can reprimand that scumbag you gave birth to._ "

Without warning, Yami Levi hung up and left no traces of the call behind, leaving Serena with more questions and further confusion.

As with a select number of occasions in the past, Serena had no idea on what to do next.

* * *

Levi carefully put his phone away as Ash's cruel daughter glared at him, looking more infuriated than she was previously. The gothic trainer took a few steps backwards, and cringed as Lia slapped him across the face.

"You're not allowed to give _me_ that attitude!" she yelled, causing Levi's eyes to widen in fury. "Did you forget who you're talking to already?"

"And did _you_ forget who freed you?" Levi retorted, already fed up with how Lia was treating him. "After we're done, please don't ask me for anything again. I can't be courteous to someone this abusive, which is why I left Mayuko alone with Joey."

Lia's glare turned into a devilish smirk; the seemingly heartless girl was blatantly having more sadistic thoughts enter her twisted mind.

"You don't want me to hit you anymore, Levi? Fine," Lia told him, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Go behind that tree in the bushes with your back facing me, then take your pants off."

Levi stared at Ash's daughter in disbelief, awestruck at what the teenage girl had just instructed him to do.

"What _did you just say?_ " Levi questioned furiously, gazing at the deplorable girl with an insane look on his face.

"Quit acting so clueless," Lia told him with a laugh. "When your pants come off, we're going to have s-"

Lia paused right before she could finish her disturbing answer, staring at something behind Levi in amusement.

"What...?" Levi hissed, briefly taking a glance to see what was catching the heinous girl's attention.

The gothic trainer turned to see a woman anxiously emerging from the bushes, one who seemed very timid and self-conscious.

This woman appeared to be a young adult around Levi's age, and had skin that was much fairer than his. She was just a few inches shorter than Levi, and had a very petite figure. Her dark amber-colored hair barely reached the base of her neck, and didn't look like she took care of it at all.

Her facial features were fairly elegant, and she had jade-colored eyes that visibly showed what was akin to loneliness. The young lady's left arm was completely wrapped in beige bandages, leaving no exposed skin anywhere.

The woman was wearing a black negligee, and a pair of dirty white slippers for some odd reason. Her backpack had a rather peculiar shape, though before Levi could ponder what it carried, Lia shoved him aside to get a closer look.

"D-Do you need this bush...?" she stuttered, her voice being extremely gentle and bearing a thorough southern accent. "I can go somewhere else, if you'd like..."

Levi noticed his foul companion getting another sinister look in her intimidating eyes, and could tell Lia had continued plotting.

"You're fine, I don't plan on going anywhere near those plants with _her_ ," Levi replied, stepping away from Ash's horrid offspring. "What is your name, may I ask?"

"I-I'm...I'm Laurie," she stammered, clearly too shy to speak correctly. "I came here after I got separated from my partner on the way the next village, and-"

"Do you know anyone named Trevor Philips?" Lia interrupted, patting her fists together in excitement. "I got something _fun_ I want to say to him!"

"Y-Yes...?" Laurie answered nervously, struggling to make eye contact with Lia without looking awkward. "Why do you need to speak to him? Haven't you heard of the stories they tell?"

"I've _seen_ what Trevor and his little friend Azazel love to do," Lia growled in response. "I watched that sun-tanned brat kill Jessie of Team Rocket, and that big sociopath who holds his hand took James after they ran. I just want to personally congratulate 'T' for his big achievement."

Instead of giving an expected emotional response, Laurie looked mildly surprised at the news, and confused that Lia was considering pursuing a teenager who she _witnessed_ murder Jessie.

Nevertheless, Laurie seemed too intimidated to deny Lia's implied request, and began walking in the direction of the village just as her two new acquaintances followed her.

Once he was sure the excessively shy woman couldn't hear him, Levi decided that he had enough of Lia's cruelty, and completely lost any concern of physical punishment. Levi was willing to order his Sylveon to attack Lia as of now, even if he didn't have to.

"I don't understand what your problem is," Levi growled, his voice being filled with nothing other than resentment towards the unkind teen. "But I know there's no way either of your parents are responsible for that disgusting attitude you carry."

"That's what you think, dick!" Lia snapped, failing to attract Laurie's attention despite the volume. "Do you know what it's like to have your own dad openly tell you he doesn't love you?!"

Levi walked a slightly slower pace due to the shock that was inflicted upon him; not once did he think Ash would even be capable of telling his own daughter that he didn't love her, let alone make any derogatory comments aimed at a child of his.

"What are you implying?" Levi asked with a clueless tone, though he already had a feeling that he knew the answer.

"I had to help my mom deal with my dad even as a little girl," Lia answered bitterly, shoving Levi in front of her. "He was never really that smart, especially after he took a break from adventuring. One day during the time when I was four, I was trying to keep my dad from sticking his hand in the garbage disposal when it was on.

"When I succeeded in keeping that moron from losing his fingers, I asked him why he didn't give me a well deserved thank you. He said he couldn't figure out why, and then I asked him if he loved me. He said he didn't know what that meant, and I explained it to him. Then guess what happened next? _He said he didn't love me!_ "

 _Weird...Serena told me that Ash said he loved her during the ill-fated party before the cruise,_ Levi thought in confusion. _Maybe he gained the knowledge afterward, or Lia's definition didn't compute to him?_

"Lia...your father does love you," Levi stated boldly, bracing himself for further physical abuse. "You were little, your explanation most likely didn't make sense to him. Your mother told me directly that he is capable of feeling that emotion for others, and even though you aren't the best person in the world, you still matter to him."

Without warning, the already agitated teen grabbed Levi by the neck, and dragged him in front of Laurie, who was caught off guard from the incoming violence.

"Fuck you!" Lia shouted with tears in her eyes, throwing Levi to the ground with half of her strength. "You and your spineless new friend on your own, I'll take care of this myself!"

Though his face was in the grass and he couldn't see Lia, Levi heard her crying as she ran after his attempt as reassurance.

"You're welcome," Levi muttered sarcastically, pushing himself up off of the grass. "Laurie, let's continue on our path to the village before it gets dark. There could be more Team Rocket agents on this island that Pegasus doesn't know about, or another potential enemy could find us."

"You're not going to follow your friend?" Laurie asked with a worried tone, taking a brief glance in Lia's last known direction.

"Lia Ketchum will _never_ be my friend," Levi stated firmly, glaring at the trail of dust Lia left behind. "Laurie, I wasn't even supposed to be here. I was placed in a group with Joey Wheeler and a former rival who's name I will not mention. I couldn't tolerate being within five meters of her for an entire day, so...I ran, and I'm going to see if I can travel with my friends for the rest of this league when we reach the village."

The shy trainer looked as if she wanted to say something, though she most likely was too afraid of an adverse reaction from a disagreement.

"O-Okay," Laurie replied, looking away shamefully. "Levi, c-can we...err, what is...what's your story?"

 _A stranger wants to know me better right away, does she? Alright then,_ Levi thought with a sigh, failing to believe he was actually going to do yet another thing he disliked. _It's not like I'll have that many things to do anyway._

Levi waved for his Sylveon to follow them, and prepared to put another pair of gloves on. The day wasn't over yet, and he already wanted to return home the very moment he had the chance.

* * *

Joey stared at his phone's clock lazily, becoming extremely impatient at Levi's long absence. His stoic new friend hadn't been too happy about traveling with Mayuko, and Joey was now suspecting that Levi had abandoned them.

"Aaahhhh...damn it! He ran away, didn't he?!" Joey shouted comically, throwing his arms up in defeat.

"I like, told you we should have followed him after he was gone for more than one minute," Mayuko stated, frowning at the situation.

"You got me," Joey replied with a saddened tone. "Should we just head back or keep going? I got no idea on what we're supposed to do when we lose part of our group."

"Neither do I man, that's funny!" said an upbeat, yet extremely dopey male voice. Joey turned to see what appeared to be an aged hippie standing before them, one that looked particularly friendly and confused.

The man was no taller than Joey and had dirty, greying brown hair dangling past his shoulders. His facial features appeared to be rough and worn down from both age, and perhaps a history of substance abuse.

He was wearing what looked like a newly purchased trench coat that matched the white T-shirt underneath, and a pair of jeans that were in an equally fine condition. His army boots also seemed to be suspiciously new, which gave Joey the impression that this man was possibly the friend of a thief.

The hippie-like individual was also dragging a worn out backpack behind him while carrying an usually large garment bag, which added to the already unsettling impression of this man's ethics.

"You need something, pal?" Joey asked, trying to sound polite in spite the awkwardness.

"Yeah man, I was just looking for my partners," he replied, his face indicating nothing other than confusion. "We were supposed to camp out here for the night, and then these guys in black suits with an 'R' on them showed up. Then they ran away, man! Now I'm on my own, and I gotta find my way to the village by myself."

 _Oh great, Team Rocket's here too?! Guess Pegasus isn't 'a man of his word' anymore,_ Joey thought with a sigh. _But just who is this dude?_

"You can travel with us then," Joey said with a grin, ignoring Mayuko's quiet irritated whine. "What's your name, pal?"

"Shit...I forgot my full name, man!" he answered, slapping his forehead. "I know my first name starts with Leo and my last name is Chingkwake..."

"You're that one hippie that broke into Angela's spa!" Mayuko gasped as she reached for her taser, stepping in front of Joey. "I've like, been waiting to do this ever since I was a little gir-"

Mayuko stopped mid-sentence at the realization of her taser missing, and froze in complete shock at the disappearance of her favorite stun weapon.

"Levi stole my taser!" she exclaimed with tears in her eyes. "How could he do this to me? All I did was tease him when he was younger!"

"Hey, maybe he wouldn't have taken it if you didn't hurt people!" Joey stated aggressively. "In fact, he wouldn't have left us here if it wasn't for you-"

"You guys know Levi?" Leo asked in surprise. "I know him, man! He gave me directions to my house last year."

"Did you like, actually find your house?" Mayuko questioned, sounding like she already knew the answer.

"Not really, but I found a UFO," Leo replied with a blank expression. "Oh yeah, and I saw Levi running off with some girl a few minutes ago. I think everyone in his group died, man!"

"Uh, he was in _our_ group!" Mayuko corrected Leo while giving him a disappointed frown. "Leo, do you want to like, travel with us? Maybe we ca-"

"Oh no, I'm not letting some stoner we just met a minute ago join us!" Joey snapped, making a cutting motion. "Doesn't it seem a little weird that he's got all those heavy bags, and acts like he smoked all his brains away? He could be a drug dealer who's trading dope for badges!"

"Hey, what's that thing right there?" Leo asked with a purely surprised tone. "Is that some kind of new Pokémon nobody's found yet, man?"

"Eh...what do ya mean?" Joey responded in confusion, turning around to face the "Pokémon" Leo mentioned.

The skilled Duelist took one brief glance at the new entity, and let out a terrified scream as it brought down a glowing sword in the direction of his head.

* * *

The last few hours had been particularly painful for Azazel; he had spent the whole afternoon worrying about the friends who weren't traveling with him and Trevor, James had woken and consistently whined about anything that came to his mind while Trevor carried him, and Bakura was nowhere to be seen.

Both of the pirates had kept their phones on, though neither had received any calls or text messages of any sort. Although he was certain Lia wouldn't escape, Azazel knew that Serena or Pegasus was going to find out Trevor tied her to a tree, and they were going to spend the remainder of this mission in a constant battle for their freedom.

Trevor wouldn't be able to stand whatever confinement Pegasus would place him in, and Azazel certainly would not allow anyone to capture him without spilling a tremendous amount of blood.

Of course, their leader was fully willing to assist any required escape, though Azazel _preferred_ to avoid another of her lectures.

All he could do is hope for a miracle, either in the form of Bakura doing something to ward off Pegasus's private militia, or a diversion that gave them enough time to get ahead of their opponents and end up being too out of range for them to carry out a successful pursuit.

Azazel was grateful that his wife and children weren't on the planet's surface, and thankful that they weren't receiving consistent news of what was going on down here. Despite not being the worrying type, she would panic for certain if she knew that they were traveling on islands owned by Maximillion Pegasus, and he had the support of Ash Ketchum along with Yugi Muto.

If they didn't reunite with the other two members of their squad, Trevor and Azazel's chances of success were horrifyingly slim. Something needed to happen _now_ , otherwise their entire agenda was going to either halt or collapse.

"Trevor, wait a second. There's probably something close by that we can use," the teen said to his middle-aged friend, then focusing on the other criminal in his forties. "James, where was the last place you and your dumb friends landed before you found us?"

"Oh, you mean the place where we resupplied and refueled?" James responded, almost as if he no idea on what Trevor and Azazel were planning. "Ever since the downfall of the most recent Team, the Pokémon Association and our country's military decided to get more aggressive, and they started learning the locations of all our bases hidden in every region.

"The boss got scared, so he decided that all Team Rocket bases should be based on mobile platforms. So now we travel the world on airships, and leave fake bases with Team Rocket Grunts disguised as our senior staff. We managed to get stronger this way, until...those scary machines attacked us!"

 _Scary machines...what in the world is this moron speaking of?_ Azazel thought, disturbed at James's lack of intellect. _That could mean_ anything _, given all the stuff there is on this ridiculous world._

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Trevor scoffed, throwing James on the ground. The well-known Team Rocket agent began whimpering, though it was obvious that Trevor had nothing to do with it; James was reliving a horrific memory that was causing him to soil himself.

"Answer him, you goddamn coward...!" Azazel hissed, kicking James in the face. "What do you mean by that, and _what happened?_ "

"There were tall scary machines with blue lights all over them, and they had guns that turned anything they shot into ashes!" James whimpered, curling into the fetal position. "They killed everyone on the ships they invaded, and destroyed the ones they didn't think were important! So we came here looking for anything that could save Team Rocket, and our world from these monsters!"

Azazel stared off into space for a moment in disbelief; although his description was vague at best, the horror story James had just told them was identical to grim tales the princess of pirates gave of the warriors that served a vile wizard who wished the enslave the universe, and make himself its supreme monarch.

The "scary robots" James spoke of resembled those warriors, and Azazel realized the full scale of what else they were going to face. This journey was already becoming a nightmare, and the day wasn't even over yet.

Azazel then heard the sound of Trevor's ringtone, the one he kept on his phone for many years and refused to change. While he didn't see the number, Azazel knew that the caller was someone he was going to loathe for the rest of his life, and felt the urge to speak up.

"T, put it on speakerphone," he said breathlessly, causing Trevor to give him a look that indicated hostile distrust. "James might know whoever is calling, and we can prep ourselves if he's another ass that's going to get in our way."

"If it's just another twat that got the wrong number and lives close by, he's gonna die anyway," Trevor stated, pressing the required buttons on the touch screen to answer and activate the requested functions. "You better not be a salesperson, or a confused airhead that got my number by mistake!"

" _Don't...don't worry Trevor, I don't get people's numbers by mistake!_ " a disturbing, deranged voice laughed. " _I always find ways to talk to people when I want to play a game...and do you know what game I want to play this time?_ "

"Hey, it's the Twerp's fanboy!" James told the two criminals in surprise. "Except...he sounds like he's possessed by a demon, or something!"

"He must be talking about Levi," Azazel said to Trevor with a grim tone, giving his friend a nod to proceed with the conversation.

"What the hell do you want?" Trevor growled with a blatantly agitated tone, indicating he was ready to punish this apparently evil version of Levi.

" _I thought I already told you,_ " Levi snickered insanely. " _I want to play a game, and this time I want to play Kill the Criminal. If my buddies win, you have to kill Azazel's family and he has to kill you. If you win, I'm going to kill you and everyone you care about._ "

" _None of that_ is going to happen, you psychotic fuck!" Trevor shouted, hanging up instantly. "Alright kid, get your Pokémon and guns out. I don't know what that screwed up version of Levi is gonna send out, but we ain't gonna let him take us down!"

Azazel flinched at a sudden blinding flash of blue light, one that quickly died out and spawned something frightening in its place.

A disturbingly sleek humanoid machine stood in front of the duo, a contraption that resembled a warrior in a shockingly advanced suit of armor, though it was obvious that this thing was a completely inorganic entity.

It had two sets of arms, the longer being mounted where a standard humanoid's would be, and the shorter being closer towards the center of its chest. The smaller arms were given flexible, thinner dark grey armor that barely matched the rest of its body.

Both of its upper arms boasted extremely slender long swords that appeared to be made of glass that carried the same shade of blue that the glowing lights that the entity had throughout its body.

The construct had a pair of what seemed to be elegant long range rifles on its thighs, which added to the already deadly impression that the robotic warrior provided.

A featureless helmet covered its head, one that had no spaces and was lined with glowing blue barbs arranged in a very complex pattern. On the rear of its torso was something that resembled a metal pyramid-shaped backpack, which was exceptionally slim and smoother than the rest of the machine's body.

"Looks like Levi _does_ want to play one of his games," Azazel remarked with a callous tone. "That's a Promethean Knight, one of the many variants of Prometheans that Princess Qadira spoke when she was telling her tales."

"Nice," Trevor said with a laugh, putting his fixation on the Knight that was implicitly glaring at them. "You got a name, asshole?"

" _What a polite greeting from the gentlemen I've heard so much about,_ " the Promethean replied sarcastically, "his" voice being completely inhuman and purely artificial. " _I_ do _have a name, although it should not matter if you consider what will happen to the two of you thugs within a few minutes. My name is Soranus, the Lord of The Dead who aids a commanding officer of the military of my master's empire that you seem familiar with._ "

Azazel was taken aback by the Promethean speaking their language; not once did he expect any of them to bother communicating with his species, let alone _actually having knowledge_ of them.

" _Normally I would have slaughtered extremely dangerous criminals like you on sight,_ " he continued, blatantly irritated at the situation. " _But I have a far more incompetent faction to terminate, and a manipulator that should have been slaughtered by now. Enjoy your final minutes, gentlemen._ "

Soranus opened both of his smaller hands as widely as he possibly could, and spawned three white spheres of light, throwing both of them upward in the space between him and the two pirates.

The trio of spheres discharged lightning-esq bolts of energy at the ground, all of which took the shapes of the three famous statue-like legendary Pokémon that originated in the Hoenn region.

Once the light cleared, the shiny variants of Regirock, Registeel, and Regice took their positions, causing an overly excited grin to form on Trevor's face.

" _Yami Levi is the least merciful out of all of us, including our master and future emperor. You better hope that he does not locate those you care for,_ " Soranus stated with a hideous tone, pointing his left sword at the duo as he glanced at each of the Regis. " _Kill them, do not allow_ any _of them to reach the Team Rocket stronghold or Bakura!_ "

With the last sentence spoken, Soranus instantly vanished in a flash of cobalt light as his Pokémon took idiosyncratic battle postures.

"We'll get a shitload of money for selling these!" Trevor shouted in excitement, shoving his hands in the corner pocket of his backpack. "Houndoom, time to beat the crap out of the three legendary trolls from that region full of freaks!"

Azazel watched the Dark Pokémon materialize in front of Trevor, and took a deep sigh as he looked in his own bag for something that could he could use to quickly defeat the infamous trio of legendary Pokémon.

 _We can definitely win this one,_ Azazel thought with a sly grin. _My Absol knows water pulse, and I got a mega stone for her. T also has a mega stone for Houndoom, and he's got plenty of empty PokeBalls. We just might be able to take these guys, and sell them for a price that not even Pegasus can afford._

"Absol, let's destroy another soul!" Azazel called out, throwing his Absol's PokeBall above him. The capsule swiftly opened to send the Disaster Pokémon onto the ground beside Houndoom, who was staring down at the three seemingly passive golems.

"Trevor, did you bring your key stone?" Azazel asked quietly, hoping that the typically aggressive legendary Pokémon weren't listening.

"Always bring it everywhere with me, Azazel," Trevor answered, pulling the required stone out his pocket. "Did you bring yours? We're gonna need more than one super Pokémon to kick their asses."

Azazel brandished his key stone, and exchanged a glance with his Absol as he prepared to perform a task he considered tedious.

The duo remained quiet as their stones lit up with a blinding flash, sending their Pokémon through the colorful process of mega evolution. Both of the affected Pokémon were swallowed by fluctuating blobs of multi-colored energy, and were given the modifications that both of the criminals had seen numerous times in the past.

When the flamboyant light show came to a halt, Trevor and Azazel's Pokémon had taken their exotic forms, and looked as if they were waiting for their masters to give them permission to annihilate the Promethean's fabricated legendary Pokémon.

Before they could issue the order, the mega evolution sigil flared up on the three golems' heads, carrying the exact same shade of blue that glowed along Soranus's armor.

 _This is just cheap,_ Azazel muttered to himself within his mind, already knowing what was going to occur.

* * *

The trio of the deadly Hoenn legends were consumed by the same mounds of energy spawned during a mega evolution, and underwent a disturbing alteration once the light died out. All three of them became almost twice their original size, and gained far more menacing appearances.

The four spikes on Regice's back were replaced with dozens of thin needles, just as its conical legs were reshaped into two collections of long, horrendously slim spikes. Its cylindrical arms became longer, and far more rigid in contrast to its newly grown fingers.

Regirock's body was in the process of being asymmetrically reshaped by the mega evolution; its body parts no longer had any similarities in size, just as the stones that formed it took on an extremely preternatural appearance. Aside from having a generally odd look, the stones were now entirely clean, almost purely translucent, and had all the possible shades of orange in terms of coloration.

Registeel's shape was now far more spherical, and machine-like to an utterly ridiculous degree. Its "stripe" was much more condensed, just as its arms became sturdier and were given a unsettling level of thickness. Registeel's "armor" became more pronounced, as the inner portions of its body seemed to be recessed as of now.

All of the three legendary titans gained three times the amount of dots they originally had on their "faces", and were rearranged in a pattern that Azazel couldn't quite comprehend.

By whatever twisted magic was in use, the notoriously lethal legendary Pokémon had attained new forms through mega evolution.

"What the flying fuck?!" Trevor exclaimed, his excitement turning into complete rage at the unfair nature of the situation. "Houndoom, knock these cheating bastards down with a flame charge!"

The Mega Houndoom was encapsulated by a veil of black flames, and lunged directly at Mega Registeel before a green orb spawned in front of its central dots. The orb transformed into a mist-shrouded beam that lanced out in Houndoom's direction, vaporizing everything it touched.

"What's happening now?" James asked idiotically, scratching his head as the beam approached him. "Where is that coming from? Is it-"

Mega Houndoom evaded the attack successfully, allowing Registeel's deadly beam to blast James's head clean off of his body instead. Azazel watched James's headless body slowly melt into an odd ooze-like substance, and felt knots form in his stomach from having a genuine understanding of what they were up against.

Bakura watched the frightening battle unfold on the exotic fields, grinning as the three mega-evolved titans made their rabid attempts to callously kill the criminals' Pokémon.

The Mega Houndoom succeeded in striking Registeel in the center, though the improved Iron Pokémon was clearly unfazed by the attack.

" _Eslab-Registeel,_ " Mega Registeel chirped, angrily smacking Houndoom to the ground like an irritating insect.

The fabled steel-type Pokémon grabbed the canine, and threw him at Mega Regice with a fearsome amount of strength.

Bakura expected Trevor to shriek a profanity at the situation, and frowned when he saw the Dark Pokémon engulf itself with the black flames yet again, this time taking a different shape as it impacted Regice and succeeded in surviving.

Mega Absol took that moment to make her move, and was outlined by a sharp cyan aura that briefly drowned out any surrounding light.

Within less than a second, a spiral of extensively compressed water launched from under her, instantly striking Mega Regirock in the center of its body.

An orb of yellow energy appeared in front of the Rock Peak Pokémon's "face", one that transformed into a recurring hyper beam that fired in the random directions that Regirock was stumbling in. The attack had clearly confused it, and made Regirock a danger to its allies.

 _Looks like these fools know what they're doing,_ Bakura thought in amusement. _It looks like they_ can _be useful assets if properly persuaded. But where is that little brat Serena raised?_

"Hey, creepy guy! Have you seen any Team Rocket members hanging around here?" the voice of Meowth said from behind, sounding exceptionally worried.

Bakura grinned in absolute delight; the opportunities at manipulation were being handed to him endlessly. Team Rocket certainly hadn't gotten any smarter over the years, and _this_ was proof.

The King of Thieves took a glance at James's headless body laying beside the makeshift battlefield, and involuntarily formed an extremely devious smirk.

"I'm afraid your friend might be missing," Bakura lied, blocking Meowth's field of view. "If you've taken a good look at this battle, it's possible that nobody will be able to stop these murderous Pokémon from killing us all."

"Wah! No, that can't happen!" Meowth cried out, running around Bakura in circles. "I don't wanna die! I helped Team Rocket, and I'm gonna go to Hell for that!"

 _This fool is making it far too easy for me,_ Bakura snickered within his mind. _I didn't see any Pokémon in Hell, and I believe Arceus gives second chances to Meowth's species. But this one is obviously too stupid to realize that._

"I can save you from going to Hell," Bakura stated, struggling to keep himself from laughing as he pulled out an empty Soul Card. "But you must allow me to take your soul."

"What are you going to do with it?" Meowth asked quietly, his eyes widening in blatant anxiety.

"Find you a replacement body," Bakura lied once again, showing Meowth the card. "Or transport you to the afterlife once I find a replacement body. You'll be sent to paradise, not the flaming cesspool your friends will be sent to."

"That sounds great!" Meowth exclaimed happily, jumping for joy. "Alrighty then, put me in your card!"

"As you wish," Bakura sneered, summoning the energies within his Millennium Item. Before the infamous translator could react, a golden beam lanced out from the ring and struck the suddenly frightened Meowth in the forehead.

The Scratch Cat Pokémon was enclosed with a golden shroud of light, and within seconds, the beam retracted back into the ancient artifact. Meowth's soulless body fell over backward, alive yet metaphorically empty.

The one-blank white space on Bakura's card was filled with the image of Meowth, looking just as shocked as he was before Bakura removed his soul.

"Be careful what you wish for, you godforsaken moron!" Bakura shouted, bursting into insane laughter. Bakura had another expendable soul to use, and the mass power that came with almost any soul always resulted in Bakura's agenda taking a huge step forward.

"Now...what obstacle shall I destroy this time?" Bakura asked himself with a grin. "My new 'friends' are quite capable _without_ my help. They will surely be able to-"

Bakura's monologue was interrupted by Mega Regice's poorly aimed beam narrowly missing him, turning everything behind him into a purely convoluted ice sculpture once the beam struck the preceding collection of plants.

 _I might as well end this myself,_ Bakura thought in irritation. _Unless Levi manages to trap Team Rocket inside their vehicles, the Prometheans are only going to scare them into running away._

Mega Regirock started to spin horizontally from its confusion at a rapid pace, the speed increasing with every passing moment. The hampered Rock Peak Pokémon then launched a whip-like hyper beam that annihilated everything it touched in a circular motion, prompting Mega Registeel to temporarily shift focus to its increasing less dangerous ally.

Without warning, the artifically mega evolved Pokémon grabbed its comrade by the torso and lifted it off of the ground, carrying it in the direction of the Team Rocket airship while making enraged noises.

A moment later, Mega Registeel tossed its former ally at the airship's position, and returned to the battle with a visibly irritated attitude. The steel-type titan was quickly met with a barrage of black flames, just as its icy counterpart was struck with a stream of dark energy on its backside.

The legendary Pokémon lifelessly fell to the ground just as their temporary evolution was removed, colorfully reverting them back to their original forms. Once the spectacle was over, the remaining legendary titans vanished in a blue flash, leaving no visible evidence of their presence in the area.

"Dammit, we go through all that just to have these fuckers leave?!" Trevor shouted, stomping on the frozen plants.

"There's a prize worth more than those three will ever be," Bakura stated as he walked up to Trevor, pointing at the Team Rocket airship. "And it just happens to be sitting there, completely unprepared for an assault from the likes of you."

Instead of responding to Bakura's comment, Azazel simply gave the king of thieves a filthy look before walking, although he was stopped by his middle-aged companion before he could depart.

"Where were you when we could have used your so-called assistance?" Trevor questioned aggressively, patting his Pokémon on the head.

"I needed to make a point," Bakura began, doing his best to prevent himself from making an sinister grin. "Ash Ketchum's evil daughter suggested that nobody needs me for _anything_ , and the two of you facing legendary Pokémon that aren't supposed to go through mega evolution has proved her wrong. Speaking of that vile girl, where is she?"

Bakura already knew that the two psychopathic males had done something to keep Lia behind, and could tell that they wouldn't be able to prevent Pegasus from learning of them.

"She had to stay behind," Azazel replied, sounding honest despite the obvious pressure. "She was a threat to us, and everyone around her _except_ that overrated mother of hers."

"Really? I never would have guessed," Bakura lied, failing to keep himself from snickering. "That's a true pity, gentlemen. We might as well continue, since Pegasus might find out and send his pawns over here. It certainly wouldn't be good if he found that we're together, especially if one considers how he doesn't like me."

 _Which is actually true,_ Bakura thought, smiling at the fact that he didn't need to lie that time. _No man would like somebody who stopped him from saving his wife permanently, let alone place him in a coma after taking his Millennium Item._

"What did you do to Pegasus, again?" Trevor asked, unaware that Azazel was using the distraction to proceed to their desired destination.

"I took his eye," Bakura replied with a heinous tone, taking a glance at Trevor's irritable partner leaving them with his Absol. "You better get a move on, your unkind friend seems rather bloodthirsty tonight and I can't blame him."

Trevor and his Houndoom instantly sprinted after Azazel while shouting numerous profanities, giving Bakura tremendous satisfaction as he imagined countless numbers of Team Rocket agents screaming for mercy as the two criminals ruthlessly slaughtered them.

"I can't believe how well this night is turning out for me," Bakura laughed, stopping instantly when he heard the sound of Lia crying nearby. "Well well, it looks like Lia Ketchum survived!"

The manipulative individual quietly strolled over to where Lia was sitting, and felt the urge to laugh when he saw the vile girl crying over something Bakura initially didn't comprehend.

"Saddened by a recent failure, are we?" Bakura asked rhetorically, not actually caring about Lia's anguish.

Lia forced herself to discontinue crying, and fiercely glared at Bakura to indicate a morbid level of disgust.

"Like you give a crap," Lia hissed, standing up as if she was about to punch Bakura in the face. "It's none of your business anyway, so get lost!"

Bakura wasn't planning on doing such a thing in spite of the potential consequence, nor would he give up on the perfect opportunity to manipulate Ash's dangerous daughter.

"What if I told you that I can provide you with an opportunity at obtaining vengeance on whoever caused you problems today?" Bakura asked, somewhat surprised that Lia's expression was unchanged.

" _I_ would tell _you_ to prove it," Lia answered angrily. "But you can't do that, can you? You seem too creepy for anyone to trust, so-"

Bakura held the card that contained Meowth's soul in front of Lia, knowing that the conceited girl would comply if she knew who was responsible for ending the last surviving member of the Team Rocket trio.

"This is the last night of Team Rocket," Bakura told Lia with a merciless tone. "As we speak, the two you were traveling with previously are approaching the ship that Giovanni is on. There is no doubt that they will kill him, and if they fail, somebody else _will_. If there are any survivors, Pegasus will surely have his men lock them up for good."

"Wait, the douchebags that tied me up and stole my Pokémon are going to kill the last of Team Rocket?!" Lia exclaimed, furiously glaring at Bakura for not telling her that sooner.

 _They placed this twisted girl in bondage, did they? That opens up yet another opportunity to gain their cooperation,_ Bakura thought, unable to control his face any further. _I know Lia is going to want vengeance, and when I allow her to claim it easily, I can rescue Trevor and that homicidal brat of his before this insane girl can do any significant damage! I'll be able to trick both sides into thinking I'm the only entity that can grant them success in impossible situations! And with the power gained from Meowth's soul, I'll be able to shape things to make that happen!_

"Their lives are going to end very soon," Bakura replied, struggling to keep himself from laughing. "And I shall help you gain vengeance on those who tied you up."

The card Bakura was holding flared with a blinding white light and within seconds, the two vanished from sight.

* * *

Pegasus stepped into the empty concert hall of his estate, frowning at the nature of the present situation.

Things had slipped beyond his control quickly, and the amount of time it would take for his security force to apprehend the "unwanted guests" was too much for his liking.

"I told Serena what I tell everyone else," Pegasus said to himself with a comical sigh. "I'm a man of my word, and I will stay true to that for an eternity. If only the unwanted guests could realize that I've only become stronger over the years, and fighting against me will lead to an undesirable outcome."

The flamboyant corporate president smiled at the prospect of seeing their adversaries hopelessly surrender, and proceeded to exit before hearing a voice of a person he never expected to meet.

"You always buy yourself the most luxurious houses and then invite as many people over as you can," Giovanni remarked, stepping towards the center of the hall. "It's funny knowing that there's actually rooms in your places that aren't filled, especially when they aren't off limits."

Pegasus turned to face the leader of Team Rocket with a satisfied expression, seemingly surprising the infamous criminal due to the satisfied smile on his face.

"Do you know what's even funnier, Giovanni-boy?" Pegasus asked with a silly chuckle. "The fact that you've decided to pay me, out of all people, a visit on the night where there are three different factions pursuing yours?"

"You have an intelligence officer filling you in on all the details, huh?" Giovanni asked rhetorically, sitting down on one of the empty tables.

"Oh come now, Giovanni-boy. You don't think I wouldn't have ways of know everything that happens on a chain of islands that I own?" Pegasus inquired with another comical laugh. "Why exactly did you come here, the place where I can imprison you and the remains of Team Rocket for the rest of your lives without a trial?"

Giovanni kept silent for a few moments, making eye-contact with Pegasus as if he was trying to communicate a silent message. However, it was clear that he didn't have the patience to remain quiet forever.

"Unlike my three most famous henchmen, I've only become wiser over the years. And that wisdom led me to the truth," Giovanni explained, shaking his head in remorse. "I didn't have the last of Team Rocket come here for a meeting, I came here so my minions can die in the least brutal prisons on this world, instead of being incinerated or literally ripped apart by our new enemies. At least their suffering, assuming you would allow any kind of suffering in what counts as prisons on your property, won't be as severe.

"That truth I was brought to showed me that Team Rocket wasn't going to last much longer, and that was before these new threats came about. But I'm not letting them die without at least some of their dignity, and before I spend the rest of my life in confinement, I'd like to have my last Pokémon Battle against someone who could have been one of my most fitting rivals."

"Some people might say that sounds very flattering, Giovanni-boy!" Pegasus said in amusement, reaching into his right pocket. "Quick question, how did you get in here without my guards catching you?"

"You left the back door open when the captain ordered a search for this mysterious 'Master of Nightmares' or whatever he's called," Giovanni answered, reaching for a Pokeball of his own. "Persian, let's enjoy our last victory!"

Pegasus gave Giovanni a grin of pity as he watched the infamous criminal's "pet" materialize in front of him, and prepared to send out one of the Pokémon that a rogue Team Rocket agent once sought.

"Suicune, why don't we entertain our guest on the last night of his freedom?" Pegasus chuckled, throwing his Pokémon's capsule in the air. Once the spherical container opened, the famous aurora Pokémon was sent out in front of Giovanni's favorite pet.

"You've gone back to doing things unfairly, have you?" Giovanni sighed in disappointment, cringing at his Persian's fearful reaction.

"Stealing people's Pokémon isn't fair, Giovanni-boy," Pegasus stated, hinting at Giovanni's hypocrisy. "And endangering the world several times isn't so nice either. Suicune, make sure that he'll never do those things again!"

The legendary beast of Johto leaped into the air, opening her mouth to launch a thick, solid bubble beam at Giovanni's Persian. The cruel Classy Cat Pokémon attempted to jump out of the way, only to have its hind legs struck by the relentless attack.

As Suicune landed on the top floor's balcony, Persian struggled to regain its balance and compensate for the debilitation caused by the unusually powerful bubble beam. The gem on the irritated feline-esque Pokémon began glowing, as if Persian was planning on attacking Suicune without instruction.

"Persian, wait a second!" Giovanni shouted, clearly knowing what would happen if his Pokémon proceeded. "She's going to jump again, and you'll just be wasting energy. Use your power gem at the ceiling instead!"

"Planning on damaging my property, are you?" Pegasus asked with a laugh. "Suicune, why don't you show them how bad his idea is?"

Giovanni's personal Pokémon fired its pale pink beam at the ceiling, only to have Suicune jump in the way and push the attack back in its direction using an aurora beam. The two attacks made contact with Persian's body, creating a blazing explosion that threw the Classy Cat Pokémon into the curtains.

Suicune landed on the stage, displaying a demoralizing posture that made Giovanni cringe once again. The Team Rocket leader's Pokémon limped onto the stage, breathing heavily when it attempted to strike Suicune with a shadow claw.

The heinous attack dug into Suicune's skin, causing the legendary beast to howl in pain, although this wasn't bothering Pegasus due to the guarantee of certain victory.

"Suicune, I think we've toyed with these two enough for tonight," Pegasus stated, crossing his arms with a confident smirk. "How about you show Persian to the exit? And by exit, I mean the window!"

Giovanni watched in horror as Suicune opened her mouth yet again, this time forming a sphere of energy that carried a frightening shade of light sapphire. The sphere transformed into a ruthless beam that blasted Persian across the room, and out of one of the open windows, shoving the Classy Cat Pokémon into the sky.

Within less than a second, Persian had been removed from sight to the point where not even a telescope could spot it.

Once the beam cleared, Giovanni aimlessly stared at the window his prized Pokémon had been sent through, and looked at the evening sky.

While the leader of Team Rocket was clearly concerned for his Pokémon's state, he didn't seem to feel any humiliation from his defeat.

"I remember what my henchmen used to say every time something like that happened to them," Giovanni told Pegasus, closing his eyes with a grin. "That's something I'm never going to miss. Even though I didn't win our battle, I'm grateful my final match didn't have the burden of potentially harming my people, and that I could simply fight as a trainer instead of something else."

Before either of them could say anything else, a Promethean Knight spawned in the space between them, this one looking very unique in comparison to the others Serena had described.

" _You two fruitcakes are dead,_ " the Knight hissed, pointing his left sword at the leader of Team Rocket. " _The first we will dissect is you, Giovanni. Your 'children' shall be next in line._ "


	4. Chapter 4: A Noble Sacrafice

Leo stared aimlessly at the horrific scene, remaining motionless as the new enemy attempted to impale Joey, only to miss the best friend of Yugi by a mere inch and hit the ground instead.

 _Oh man...these kids are probably gonna die if I don't do something,_ the hippie thought as the machine attempted to stab Joey once again. _Is this guy one of those Promethean dudes that they talked about on the ship?_ _We gotta fight him if he is, man!_

"Hey, I know what we can do!" Leo shouted, attracting the Promethean Knight's attention as well. "Let's capture him, man!"

"This isn't a Pokemon, you brainless stoner!" Mayuko told the hippie rudely, pointing at the homicidal entity.

"I know, man! But that doesn't mean we can't catch him," Leo retorted, reaching into his duffel bag to find the proper Pokemon for the skirmish. "I choose the uh...what's his name? The red fire bird thingy...oh yeah, Talonflame!"

Leo tossed his Talonflame's Pokeball into the air, triggering the now-generic sequence that many have seen one too many times.

The Scorching Pokemon let out a battle cry the very moment it materialized in the air, and began to aggressively circle the Promethean Knight as he awaited Leo's commands.

"This dopehead can't beat whatever this thing is without us, Joey," Mayuko told the dull-witted boy, reaching for a Pokemon of her own as well. "Emolga, save that poor Pokemon from his trainer's total stupidity!"

Leo watched Mayuko send out the famous Sky Squirrel Pokemon, and was quickly perplexed at the young girl's choice for the upcoming battle.

"Why are you choosing that little chipmunk thing, man? I heard small Pokemon aren't that tough, man!" Leo stated, unintentionally sounding appalled.

"You got soooo much to learn, Leo!" Mayuko sighed, taking an adverse glance at Joey as if expecting him to act as well.

"You can't win this fight without me, huh?" Joey said in disappointment, reaching for a Pokemon of his own. "Let's do it, Volcarona!"

Just as the blonde duelist threw his Pokemon's container into the air, the Promethean Knight had already aimed its rifle at Joey, and prepared to fire as Volcarona's Pokeball released it.

"Talonflame, do that thing where your body catches on fire and you crash into things!" Leo shouted, causing the Promethean to aim its rifle at his Pokemon.

The falcon-like Pokemon cloaked itself in a viel of flames, and performed a nose dive into the upper right section of the Promethean Knight's frame.

Leo's Talonflame broke through the outer layers of the Promethean's armor, and ran straight into the ground as he narrowly missed the Knight's vital components.

" _Nice try..._ " the Knight hissed, surprising the trio with its ability to speak. The ruthless machine aimed its rifle at Talonflame, and fired numerous bursts of solid orange light in his direction.

The Scorching Pokemon quickly evaded the attack, barely missing the lethal attack that incinerated everything in its path.

After the nimble bird nearly avoided its death, Joey took a horrified look at the homicidal machine that clearly wanted him and his newer friends to die, frightened at the prospect of it communicating in their language.

"Volcarona, make it so that creep doesn't freak me out again!" Joey ordered, pointing at the furious machine in fright. "Try to hit its spine with a fire blast!"

The Sun Pokemon launched a volley of circular flames that attracted the Knight's attention, and motivated "him" to make an attempt at blocking the attack with his sword. The fire blast burned its way through the blade, striking the left side of the Promethean's face, triggering a horrendous explosion in the process.

Leo mindlessly stared at the dull smoke, confused at what happened until the hazardous cloud began to clear, showing the burnt machine's partially removed "face", and the glowing blue skull that seemed to be inflicting fright upon Mayuko and Joey.

"U-Use thunder wave, like, right now!" Mayuko stuttered, pointing at the Knight in fear. The impatient Emolga complied with a frown, sending a burst of blue lightning at the irritated artificial warrior, who instantly evaded the attack with a rapid side step.

" _I must admit, this was impressive at the start,_ " the Knight stated with an honest tone. " _But now I'm very annoyed from the damage you three have caused, more annoyed than I have ever been in all the centuries I've lived. Since I can't beat you with this body, I'll use the magic trick my friend taught me, and turn into something you_ can't _defeat. Joey Wheeler here will be the most embarrassed thanks to the irony this trick will provide!_ "

The Promethean Knight's body flashed with a blue flare, and left the sight of something that could have been potentially horrifying. The Promethean Knight's body had fully repaired itself, and was now leaking a glowing crimson ooze-like substance that was consuming the Knight with every passing second.

In less than a few moments, the ooze had completely consumed the Knight's body, and triggered the machine's mass to expand, along with his shape being altered at a quick pace.

"Hey, um...that's starting to look like that dragon, man!" Leo pointed out, smiling unintelligently as the two teenagers groaned in annoyance. "What was it called...black dragon red, or red black monster?"

Once the entity reached the size of a small building, the ooze fell off of the former Knight, hitting the ground at a speed that practically rivaled a light particle's.

What was once the bothersome Promethean Knight had somehow achieved something many would have found utterly ridiculous; the machine had used an unknown magic to transform into the Red Eyes Black Dragon.

Joey's expression of fear had turned to one of complete disbelief, and Leo knew somewhat that Joey believed he would never see a duel monster that was an _actual_ figment of reality after the means to create them were lost forever...or at least claimed to be eternally gone.

Now the Prometheans' abilities apparently gave them the power to make use of whatever Duel Monsters cards they had access to, and they could manipulate Pokemon Battles in their favor.

"The Promethean guy can turn into the Duel Monsters stuff! That's really cool, man!" Leo stated, causing Mayuko and Joey to become angry.

"That's NOT a good thing, you idiot!" the valley girl shouted, while her Emolga began to panic.

Failing to pay attention to Mayuko, Leo watched the Promethean sigil appear on the Black Dragon's chest, and noticed the glowing blue lines appear throughout the exterior of his body.

The Red Eyes Black Dragon lept into the air, and gained a great amount of leverage as he prepared his upcoming lethal attack.

* * *

Lia felt herself reassemble as if she was a once-shattered sculpture that had just been rebuilt, and landed on top of a ruined shrub sitting in yet another patch of grass.

"Argh...that jerk didn't teleport me inside?!" Lia shouted to herself, standing up to see her surroundings.

The malicious daughter of Ash Ketchum turned to see the Team Rocket airship positioned on the nearby hill, and grinned at the possibility of what was about to transpire. Trevor and Azazel were surely within close proximity of Lia, and Team Rocket most likely were unprepared for what was going to occur.

Before the ruthless girl could further speculate on her revenge, Lia noticed the bag containing her Pokemon sitting in front of the shrub, and felt an overwhelming sense of relief flooding her as she sprinted towards it.

"I got you all back!" Lia shouted, hugging the bag tightly. "I guess Bakura isn't such a bad guy-"

Lia discontinued her sentence at the sound of an extremely gleeful laugh, and had a clear idea on who generated it.

A few seconds later, the arrogant trainer could hear Levi calling out for his main partner Pokemon, and quickly understood what was about to happen.

Lia shoved her right hand into the bag, and plucked her Staraptor's Pokeball out its storage, preparing to face the incoming threat.

Unsurprisingly, Levi's Sylveon leaped out of the trees in a silly manner, and landed within a very close distance to Lia, gazing at her with visible gaiety in her bright blue eyes.

In spite of what Lia did to the Sylveon's master, it seemed that Sally's arrival wasn't based on harmful intentions, which further disturbed Lia due to the various unpleasant possibilities.

"Were you actually looking for me? Or did you come here to-" Lia attempted to ask before a deplorable thought entered her mind. " _This_ is why Bakura teleported me and my Pokemon here! He knew that you saps were coming this way, and that Levi wouldn't give me a chance to hurt someone using my Pokemon!"

Lia's eyes widened in angst as the gothic trainer entered her field of view from the woods, and could tell he was extremely disappointed to see her once again.

"My luck is complete trash, it seems," Levi remarked with a saddened tone, ignoring Laurie slowly stepping closer to him. "Just as I thought I was free of you, we have another encounter. Unfortunately for you, you're not going to have an opportunity at abusing me. Sally, are you ready to punish this demented girl?"

Lia stared at the young adult in disbelief, and shivered in spite once his Sylveon let out a happy whistle before charging at the nasty girl with pure optimism.

"STOP!" Lia bellowed horrifically, putting her bag down to indicate a form of surrender, causing Sally to discontinue her potential attack. "You want me to stop trying to toughen you up, Levi? Fine, you'll get your way."

Lia then thought of how her mother was at the current moment, and recalled her current objective. She wanted Trevor and Azazel to suffer for what they did, but that certainly could wait.

Serena was more important to Lia than simple vengeance, and it was more than likely that Lia was going to have a _far_ easier chance at punishing the two in the future. However, it was also probable that Levi was going to take action against Lia for what she did earlier.

"Of course I will," Levi remarked sarcastically, giving Lia a glare unimaginably more fierce than anything could mother could muster. "In spite of your evil deeds, I will try to persuade Mr. Pegasus into allowing you to continue. If you defeat me in battle, that is."

 _He actually thinks he can beat me? That's probably the most arrogant idea anyone's come up with,_ Lia thought maliciously. _Okay Levi, I'll gladly embarrass you in front of my parents and our "friends". I'll even get someone to record this on camera so I can show_ everyone _you know that you're absolutely_ nothing!

The markings on the gothic trainer's forehead suddenly lit with an eerie cyan colored hue, and within less than a second, a stream of lightning emerged from the undesired sigil, rapidly shooting in the direction of the Team Rocket encampment.

Lia temporarily watched the short-lived scene, and turned her focus to Levi, who had fallen to the ground with an unexpected angry look on his face. Instead of appearing to be dazed from whatever happened to him, it seemed that something about the event was angering him. Levi's partner Pokemon and his newer friend quickly came to help him stand, both appearing oblivious to Lia and what spawned from the markings Bakura had added.

Lia took another glance at the airship that was about to suffer the wrath of their new adversaries, and prepared to yell at Levi for information before hearing undesirable dialog in her mind.

" _You really hate him, don't you?_ " a demonic voice said from an unknown direction. " _Don't you want him to suffer some more? Your mom will forgive you one day, and if she doesn't, why not find Jirachi and wish for forgiveness?_ "

"You don't need to hide, whoever is talking to me!" Lia shouted disturbingly, instantly catching the attention of everyone else.

"What...?" Levi whispered in horror, as if seeing exactly what was occurring inside of Ash's fearless daughter.

" _You_ do _think everyone is attractive, don't you?_ " the voice continued, causing Lia to become upset within a very short amount of time. " _Why don't you do what you wanted to do to him earlier? Sure, he's going to despise you forever unless you change that, but he doesn't matter at all. That_ is _what you believe, isn't it?_ "

"Fuck off!" Lia yelled furiously, tightening her fists due to the savage rage. "When I find out where you're hiding, I'm going to molest _you!_ "

" _No...no...you can't do that to me, or you'll have to play a game with me! Maybe my favorite game if I'm in the mood,_ " the voice retorted with a giggle that indicated "he" was plagued with a severe mental illness. " _I gotta go now, but I'll tell you my secret since you can be a friend. I can enter the mind of anyone who tries to form close relationships with others if a Millenium Item has been used on them, and I'll be able to do all sorts of fun things then! You can thank Bakura for making this possible!_ "

After the "voice" continued his mologue, Lia felt as if something had removed itself from her, and removed every bit of rage she was previously afflicted with.

"He... _he's_ trying to invade everyone," Levi growled with a demoralized tone. "We have to get back to Serena, and find some way to keep Yami distracted until we find some way to cut him off from us for good."

 _So the asshole who tried to get inside my head was the Yami Levi everyone was talking about this morning,_ Lia said to herself mentally in amusement. _I doubt there's a way to beat that guy without killing him, but Levi is probably the kind of guy who thinks killing anyone is bad._

"I-I don't think I can come with you," Laurie stated nervously, looking away from the two in shame. "Serena might end up hating me one day."

Levi gazed at Laurie in suspicion; Lia knew that he wasn't going to trust strangers throughout the rest of this quest, and that was the case with her as well. Perhaps there was a chance Lia could relate with her mother's new friends after all.

"If my mom even _slightly_ dislikes you," Lia said with a friendly tone. "It will be for a perfectly justified reason."

"That...is actually something I can agree with," Levi commented in surprise, waving for the two to follow him. "Come, Laurie has a map on her PokeNav that shows the location of the road."

 _He respects my mom, does he? Maybe he'll be more useful than I thought,_ Lia said within her thoughts, discontinuing once she heard something rustling in the bushes.

 _Looks like we got yet another problem,_ Lia thought with a sinister smirk, looking towards the supposed direction of the road. _I'll let whatever that is follow us back, and when it reveals itself, I'll be able to impress Mom by kicking its ass in front of her!_

Lia quietly followed Levi and his new companion from behind, grinning at the thought of lightening the potential conflict.

* * *

After fully learning of the present situation, Serena had been doing nothing other than finding a place for the group to spend the night that she knew was perfectly secure, and could guarantee the group's safety even if _they_ made dangerous mistakes themselves.

Despite the fact that they hadn't even made it to the first gym yet, Serena was now well aware of who could be trusted, and who she never should have put any faith in from the start.

Upon gaining vehicular transportation, Serena arrived to what seemed to be the first village, and was not impressed at its appearance. For the most part, it was composed of modern one-story buildings, along with a moderate amount of small houses that were almost smaller than a single-wide mobile home.

The structures were not exactly bland, although they were nothing significant to look at. It definitely lacked the quality one would expect from an island owned by Maximillion Pegasus, but it _did_ have the benefit of not being a hideous decaying cesspool.

As the former Pokemon Performer searched for what looked like the most secure residence in the village, she also continued to process her next course of action.

Serena was definitely going to give Levi and her daughter lectures along with a form of punishment for their misdeeds, and Bakura was no longer going to be included in the group. The mysterious carrier of the Millennium Ring didn't prevent the disasters of this night when it clearly was the right thing to do, and that alone was enough to prove what was going to occur if the group continued to invest faith in him.

 _I'll have to choose one of these,_ Serena thought unhappily, taking a glance at the largest house she could see. _This should be good enou-_

Serena's train of thought was interrupted at the sound of something rustling behind the house, and quietly crept over towards the source of the noise as she prepared to use her strongest Pokemon.

Upon reaching the rear of the structure, Serena noticed a young teenage boy shoving a pile of gold nuggets into his backpack, and was somewhat unnerved at his appearance.

The boy seemed disturbingly physically fit, though his muscle mass was clearly lacking visibility. His skin was mildly dark, and seemed devoid of any damage in the slightest. He had short charcoal-colored hair that seemed well maintained, and his eye color contained a vibrant shade of lavender.

This unusual teen was wearing an outfit that looked as if it had been recently purchased, as the price tags were still present.

The boy was wearing an overrobe that covered his shirt and pants, though Serena could tell he was wearing some kind of pants. He was also wearing a pair of fine leather boots, which further added to the suspicious element of his appearance.

"Hey Miss, what can I do for you?" the boy asked, his voice sounding too mature for his apparent physical age. "Do you need directions, or..."

The boy discontinued his activities once he took a glance at Serena's face, and was blatantly shocked at who he was looking at.

"Hey, you're Serena Ketchum!" the boy exclaimed in shock, letting go of his backpack. "My uh...my friends told me stories about you, they say you'r-"

"I haven't actually married Ash just yet," Serena interrupted unknowingly, sighing at the sad truth. "What are you doing out here anyway? The island's owner already alerted the settlements about what's going on in the wilderness."

"I am...just taking what's in the ground," the boy admitted nervously. "My name's Razoul, I'm staying in this house for the night until my friends come back. They're going on a field trip so they can know the island better, although I'd just prefer to challenge the gym and get this over with."

 _This boy probably came to the island with Trevor also,_ Serena thought in bitter suspicion. _Well, he's not going to be able to do any damage by the time everyone's here if he_ is _working with the criminals. He already might be thinking that he can fool us, so it'd probably be smart to play along if I want to expose him._

"Would you mind sharing your house with us, Razoul?" Serena asked kindly with a warm smile. "Considering how dangerous things are getting, I think it's best if we all stay together. You won't mind if you have to share a room, right?"

Razoul quickly sealed his backpack and lifted it off the ground with a strangely optimistic smile, proceeding to happily show Serena to the open front door.

"You're probably going to like it," Razoul told the former Rhyhorn racer, moving inside before taking a look at the living room. "It's got plenty of...space?"

Serena felt an uneasy sensation at the teenager standing still with a pessimistic expression, and felt the urge to take a look inside. Once she made her entry and flipped the light switch, a seemingly unpleasant sight appeared in the living room.

* * *

Pegasus stared at the briefly immobile Promethean Knight, who had remained stationary for some reason in spite of making fierce threats earlier. Instead, the machine slowly stepped backward, as if "he" wanted to resolve this peacefully.

" _We read your logs, Giovanni,_ " the Knight said in disgust, though it seemed the machine was aware of the criminal's guilt. " _If you don't want your people to die, you can surrender and I'll try to convince my commanding officer to let them off the hook._ "

Before the Team Rocket leader could respond, Pegasus had already gained the desire to end the vile machine. The creator of Duel Monsters was wise enough to know the Prometheans couldn't be trusted, and wasn't willing to risk any lives tonight.

"Suicune, use Ice Beam on that monstrosity!" Peagsus ordered with a serious tone, pointing at their artificial adversary.

The aurora Pokemon dashed in the air, opening her mouth to send out the bright cyan burst of energy. The icy stream hit the vicious soldier in the face, causing the unnatural warrior to what equated to a lifeless frozen statue.

"I'm sure he'll be able to free himself soon," Pegasus told Giovanni nervously, taking a glance at the closest exit. "We should leave here at once befo-"

"No Pegasus, I'm staying behind. The days of Team Rocket fleeing end tonight," Giovanni interrupted somberly, glancing out the window again. "I have intelligence officers that fill me in on secrets too. This 'Master of Nightmares' is after something he'll trade everything to get to, and I can use that to lure them to a place that they'll eventually spend quite some time trying to escape.

"Besides, I can pay for my mistakes here without putting anything else on your shoulders. Not a day goes by without me remembering what I did. I know that this world will never forgive me or the rest of Team Rocket for what we've done, and I accept that. What I won't accept is people of future generations following in our footsteps.

"Pegasus, if you do happen to gain an agenda that involves improving the world, a good step would be preventing criminal 'teams' like ours from existing again. The Prometheans will bring the worst of our world's suffering, and everyone will need a break from this nonsense."

Instead of making any further comments, Pegasus jumped onto his Suicune and pointed towards one of the doors. The Aurora Pokemon quickly sped off, running at a speed that seemed nearly impossible for its species.

 _And now I'll make up for what I've done,_ Giovanni thought with a small grin, taking a glance at the frozen Promethean. _That Promethean will take the flash drive in my pocket and receive false coordinates. If these things cause enough chaos, perhaps my people will have enough time to find refuge at a place nobody can get to._

Giovanni noticed that the petrified Promethean's weapon was starting to glow a fiery orange, which was a blatant implication of the mechanized demon figuring out how to free himself.

"My fellow Team Rocket members...forgive my foolishness," Giovanni said quietly, gripping the storage device in his pocket. "I should realized the error of our ways sooner. That way we would have never ended up in this situation, and you all could have lived normal lives instead of spending more than a decade on the run. Should you ever be captured, I hope Pegasus gives you all another chance eventually. I don't anyone else who would at this point..."

Giovanni stood still, closing his eyes once again to recall all of the good moments in his life. The leader of Team Rocket smiled upon seeing his happy memories, doing his best to dwell on his positive moments and enjoy the final minutes of his life.

* * *

Bakura sat still on the living room couch, staring aimlessly at a Duel Monsters card he seemingly placed on the table. He currently seemed oblivious to Serena's prescence, almost like he didn't care about anything at the moment.

"What are you doing in here...whoever you are?" Razoul asked with a nervous tone, standing perfectly still. Instead of saying anything to the boy, Bakura simply grinned as his Millennium Ring started to glow.

Before he had the chance to escape, a transparent beam of green energy struck Razoul in the chest, instantly turning the young teenager into what appeared to be a featureless ceramic statue.

"Bakura, what-" Serena attempted to say before she was swiftly interrupted by the haunting man.

"Your assistance would have progressed my agenda," Bakura stated with a surprisingly honest tone. "However, the chaos outside suggests that you won't be able to survive. That being said, you no longer serve me any purpose."

Serena stared at Bakura in disbelief, watching her life flash before her eyes as Bakura performed his next heinous action.

* * *

Two down...far too many to go, Bakura thought in satisfaction as he slammed the front door of the guest house. At least I got this far with their help, maybe-

"Hey, Bakura!" Dawn shouted from nearby, sounding rather angry. The King of Thieves turned to see the Pokemon Coordinator charging at him like an angry beast, stopping herself just in time to avoid crashing into him.

"Abandoned your team, did you?" Bakura remarked in a nasty manner, smirking as Dawn's glare intensified. "Or did they happen to die at the hands of our shiny friends?"

"I heard what you did! Serena told the security guards and everyone on the island is finding out," Dawn told the thief furiously, taking out a pokeball. "We were wrong to trust you, and now it's time someone took you down. Go, Typhlosion!"

Bakura watched Dawn send out the robust fire-type Pokemon, and felt like laughing at the thought of what was going through her mind.

"You think you can defeat me? How pitiful," Bakura sneered mockingly, preparing to send out a Pokemon of his own. "Darkrai, let's make this girl suffer one last embarassment!"

Bakura tossed his servant's container into the air, smiling as the stored energy materialized into the infamous legendary Pokemon few could obtain. Despite the obvious advantage Bakura had over her, Dawn did not seem intimidated in the slightest.

"Typhlosion, let's try flamethrower!" Dawn commanded, her tone lacking fear of any sort. The volcano Pokemon instantly spat out a volley of flames, failing to strike the Darkrai as it quickly evaded the attack.

Bakura's expression turned far more insidious as his Darkrai evaded every attack Typhlosion threw at it, laughing each time the fire-type Pokemon incinerated something other than its intended target.

"Darkrai, use confuse ray on that pathetic thing," Bakura instructed with a vile tone. The grim legendary Pokemon made a somber grunt as it sent the vile sphere of light at Dawn's persistent Pokemon, quietly laughing as it fell out of touch with its surroundings.

"Now...kill it," Bakura said in a hidious manner, pointing at the helpless Johto Pokemon deviously. "End that wretched thing's life with the most lethal dark pulse you can muster!"

The brutal legendary Pokemon launched a thicker looking variant of the infamous beam, sending it at the stunned Typhlosion at a horrifying speed. Time seemed to slow down as the fire-type Pokemon's life was apparently nearing its end, with Dawn rushing in its direction.

Dawn shoved her Typhlosion out of the way with all her strength, pushing it out of the attack's path and taking her Pokemon's place as the pulse reached its intended position.

The beam struck Dawn body brutally, creating a large violet explosion that vaporized most of her body. Bakura's expression turned neutral at the sight of Dawn's limited remains flying up in the air, and took a brief glance at her still-confused Typhlosion.

"I guess I should just end this the easy way," Bakura said to himself, aiming his Millennium Item at the volcano Pokemon. "After all, its master is dead!"

As the Millennium Ring readied itself to petrify its next victim, Bakura felt a sense of grim satisfaction from his victory and laughed at the thought of how Serena's friends would react to the death of yet another one of their friends.


End file.
